Rick Stiebel
B次元官网网址 Staff
If youB次元官网网址檝e ever wondered what it would be like to travel into space or tour the pyramids, on foot or from high above, look no further than a nondescript little storefront on Granderson Avenue in Langford.
An amazing array of experiences awaits once you step inside FlynnB次元官网网址檚 Virtual Reality, the first arcade of its kind on the West Shore.
B次元官网网址淵ou can be on the Titanic, petting giraffes in Africa, hang gliding, dancing, killing zombies or be chased by dinosaurs,B次元官网网址� said Scott Wright, owner of FlynnB次元官网网址檚 Virtual Reality, which first opened its virtually limitless doors in February.B次元官网网址漌e have more than 100 options, including many for people not into science fiction or flying through the air as a fire-breathing dragon. You can play a sport, take a roller coaster ride or walk through a haunted house. You name it, thereB次元官网网址檚 really nothing you canB次元官网网址檛 do. Anyone from six and up can enjoy the experience.B次元官网网址�
ThereB次元官网网址檚 a number of things that sets VR apart from regular video games, Wright noted. B次元官网网址淗ere, youB次元官网网址檙e standing up strengthening your core and using your muscles, compared to being hunched over a playing a video game. VR burns 10 calories a minute on average. It also levels the playing field for parents and their kids whoB次元官网网址檝e grown up gaming. ThereB次元官网网址檚 only two handheld controls that donB次元官网网址檛 require any prior knowledge of how the game works. You just put on your helmet and off you go.B次元官网网址�
Wright has had several caregivers of autistic children come in already because they view it as a learning tool. B次元官网网址淵ou can cure phobias for instance,B次元官网网址� he explained. B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e afraid of spiders, for example, you go to VR and put some on your arms.B次元官网网址�
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Although simulators have been around since the 1920s when the British and Americans first started using them to train pilots, it wasnB次元官网网址檛 until the early 1960s that the experience reached a point where you could alter what was going on, Wright noted.
Although the VR experience went public in the 1980s, it was hardware dependent, required a full booth and lots of expensive equipment. B次元官网网址淚t was priced out of reach and the powers that be did a terrible job of marketing,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t really took off when software became boss around 1998 to 2000. Developers around the world could start creating their own world. A little team of six guys in Estonia could produce amazing things. The market is now open to smaller firms, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what brought the price down.B次元官网网址�
FlynnB次元官网网址檚 Virtual Reality costs $25 for one hour, and customers can include as many experiences as they want in that time frame. B次元官网网址淲e had 11 11-year-old girls in for a birthday party recently and they were dancing, doing artB次元官网网址hey had the time of their lives.B次元官网网址�
The arcade is open from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Sessions are booked online at .
c.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca
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