We now live in a world where virtual reality is more accessible than ever. You can put on a pair of glasses with a built-in computer and interact in a fully digitized world with fully rendered graphics, the illusion of depth perception, and directional sound at home with an Oculus Quest or HTC Vive headset.
Virtual reality seems to be following the same difficult path as the movie industry. The more portable and accessible technology becomes, the harder developers have to work to deliver something that entices customers to leave their homes to experience it.
Sandbox VR is one of the latest attempts to correct the mistakes made by the movie industry during the rise of streaming services. The VR gaming experience has opened branches in dallas at Mockingbird station and fort worth in Crockett Row.
Augmented reality has always been one of the biggest challenges in VR, and Sandbox solves that hurdle by making gamers’ arms and legs as responsive in a virtual environment as the Pico Neo 3 headsets. VR and special tracking equipment that can track the movement of players’ arms and legs with a four-point tracker worn on their wrists and ankles. Players also wear special haptic vests that can react to the environment, whether you’re scratched by a zombie or shot down by a pirate’s undead skeleton. Sure, they don’t leave as much permanent damage as the real thing, but it’s useful to know when you’re hit outside your line of sight before your enemies can down you for good.
A Sandbox VR team member helps a player put on a haptic vest during a virtual experience demo at Sandbox VR’s brand new location at Mockingbird Station.
Danny Gallagher
Each game also allows you to interact with physical objects such as guns, guns, swords, and torches, which you hold in your hands. Home headsets like the Oculus Quest and HTC Vive simulate weapons and items through special controllers. Sandbox VR uses the same tracking devices as wrist and ankle bracelets. You feel like you are holding, swinging and wielding these objects as you see them in the virtual world.
Sandbox VR offers six different experiences in a variety of genres for teams of up to six players. The majority of them are shooters in survival situations, but some of the titles go beyond just blowing sprint ghouls in your face before they can scratch your eyes out of your sockets. Each allows you to choose a unique character to serve as your avatar during and after the game.
Deadwood Valley and Deadwood Mansion are two of Sandbox VR’s zombie horror games. You and your teammates are thrown into a dilapidated setting as waves of the undead are determined to turn you into dinner. Both games also have a storyline with five different endings depending on your score and the choices you make with various interactions throughout the game.
Curse of Davy Jones is a pirate-themed wave shooter where you battle undead armies of infamous pirates, including skeletons, ghosts, and what looks like the Tarman from The return of the living dead. The majority of the action involves shooting and slicing enemies with swords, but some of the bigger bosses require puzzle-solving skills to take them down. The game also lets you heal fallen comrades by touching their shoulders and using torches to light up certain items.
One of the most interesting options is an experiment called Star Trek: Discovery, based on the acclaimed Paramount+ sci-fi spin-off series. It’s a mix of an escape room and a shooter where you play as a Starfleet team transported to an alien world. You’ll interact with some of the franchise’s most iconic gadgets like phasers and tricorders.
Unbound Battle League is a unique two-player fighting game that attempts to open a new competitive avenue for esports. This is a simulated gladiator combat challenge in which two players fight to the virtual death with a wrist shield and a variety of melee weapons in a futuristic arena.
The experience doesn’t end when the game is over and you wipe off puddles of sweat. Each game tracks each player’s score from an account you create during registration and displays the highest scores on the franchise’s website by teams and individual players. There are also cameras placed around the game room that track your in-game and real-world movements and stitch them together into a special movie-style trailer.
You’re not just playing a singular game in a linear fashion. You compete against your teammates and other teams to achieve something in the real world.
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