by Michael “Baz” Balzer, The Bezark Company, introduction by Adam Bezark.
We live in the Golden Age of “Rs.” VR, AR, MR, XR… The tech world keeps bringing us new and gee-whizzier versions of reality to play with. Ultimately, we’re convinced that augmented reality (AR) offers the strongest potential for the real-world destinations our industry creates. Seamlessly blending virtual content with physical scenery is truly the best of both worlds.
But what about the O.G. R… good old virtual reality (VR)? It’s had a bit of a rough reception in our industry. However, there’s still great potential there if we look at it just a bit differently. Bezark lead creative director Michael “Baz” Balzer is here to do just that by exploring VLBE – virtual location-based entertainment.
The VR era
It’s been about ten years since VR emerged as a viable entertainment medium. (More than that, if you count the original, bespoke experiences by Disney and others in the ‘90s.) Even before consumer VR headsets found their way into homes, many in the location-based entertainment (LBE) space were exploring the promise and possibilities of this new tech. It didn’t take long for VR experiences to appear at theme parks and other attractions worldwide. But that’s when the “reality” part of VR started to kick in.
Guests expecting a shared social experience suddenly found themselves isolated from their friends and family as soon as they put on their VR headsets. High maintenance, sanitation and equipment costs hit the bottom line. The complexity and finicky nature of headsets affected capacity. Still, guests loved being fully immersed in new worlds, endowed with new abilities, and the freedom and agency the medium brought.
So, it’s fair to say VR’s first decade in LBE has been a mixed bag. But despite the operational challenges, the platform’s creative possibilities remain intoxicatingly powerful. VR can create daring new story worlds. Those pesky laws of physics become more like… guidelines. And we can really focus on individualizing the experience, giving guests the agency and sense of empowerment they crave.
So, the $640,000 question is: how do we square this circle? How do we fit this low-throughput tech into high-throughput business models? Maybe the answer is to invert the equation. Maybe it’s time for us to take our design skills into the virtual space, or maybe the answer is a new product: the VLBE.
What is a VLBE?
The core premise of virtual location-based entertainment (VLBE) is simple: treat virtual space the same way we treat a plot of land or an empty show building. We can create shared, immersive virtual experiences that can be enjoyed and monetized in familiar and all-new ways. Just as in a physical location, our goal is to create engaging worlds that get people “out of the house” to create fun and memories with friends. The only difference is that they put on a VR headset instead of getting in a car.
Once we make that mental shift, the restrictions of VR will become benefits. We go from limited to infinite throughput. Gone are the operational constraints and complex load processes. What’s left is the freedom to stretch our imaginations and the chance to reach an even broader and more diverse audience.
The VLBE is a place where gravity is irrelevant, architecture can have impossible cantilevers, show spaces can have an infinite number of secret passageways and interactive elements, and fully mobile characters can replace animatronics.
Beyond removing limitations, the VLBE format opens new possibilities for LBE designers. The stories we design can incorporate high levels of personalization. We can encourage experimentation, reward curiosity, and build an environment that responds to guest actions in a persistent — even permanent — way. We can introduce elements of expression, empowering guests to redesign the world to their tastes.
The social aspect of VR is young but burgeoning. A few of us at Bezark have a weekly VR meetup at Mighty Coconut’s terrific Walkabout Minigolf. It’s a delightful take on the classic game but set in marvelous cartoony environments that defy gravity and scale. We jump online from our living rooms in three different states and crack each other up while getting atrocious golf scores. This inspired a revelation and a mission statement of sorts: simple activities with lots of social interaction. The VLBE can be a hangout for friends and families worldwide.
And the time is right to bring this kind of concept to the VR industry. The number of home-based VR headsets is growing every year. Immersive versions of traditional video games currently dominate offerings, but other kinds of experiences exist on the platform. From interactive movies to educational experiences, there’s plenty of experimentation going on. We have an opportunity to define a new category of virtual experience based on our industry’s long-established design principles.
What the future can hold
Of course, we’re not suggesting that VLBE can replace good, old-fashioned, in-person destinations. On the contrary, these experiences can coexist and support each other.
As VR continues to mature, the challenges that vex in-park installations will presumably be solved. It’s probable that AR will make the leap and deliver the right mix of physical and virtual magic that our attractions demand. But now that VR has established itself as a viable at-home product, we’d do well to plant a flag and claim some of that virtual space for ourselves.
This isn’t VHS vs Betamax; both mediums will survive and thrive in the future. Offering LBE fans a virtual place to scratch that virtual itch seems like a win-win-win. And it sounds like a lot of fun.
