British theme park Alton Towers wants to create the grand daddy of virtual reality experiences: by adding rollercoasters to the mix. Galactica, to open in April, will steer passengers across the cosmos with twists and turns timed to coincide with the display riders will view via VR headsets. I can’t decide if I love the idea or hate it.
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The ride has been two years in the making – that will be the first to open since last year’s accident that seriously injured five people – which will also see passengers lying face-down as they hit maximum speeds of 46mph (75km/h) and experience a maximum g-force of 3.5gs which is 0.5 more gs than astronauts generally experience during launch, apparently. If I say g-whizz here will you think less of me? Sod it, g-whizz!
Here’s the rather dramatic trailer the theme park released for Galactica earlier today:
Based on my experiences with VR so far, I’ve continually said the instances where your feet are naturally planted on the ground are most believable and thus more enjoyable. Sure, Galactica will introduce VR to wider audiences that might not otherwise engage with the medium on a recreational level, but it takes this idea of believabilty to a whole other level. As such, it genuinely terrifies me.
Or am I just being a big wuss?