Frontgrid, an expert in adventure leisure and virtual reality attractions, has announced that it has been working on new upgrades for its successful ParadropVR product. This award-winning virtual reality flying experience has proved popular since its launch in 2017 and can now be found in ten countries around the world. It is ideal for FECs, malls, arcades, theme parks, cinemas, cruise ships and many other LBE venues.
ParadropVR brings together motion-based hardware with gamified environments for a unique location-based experience. The original hardware, Rize, allows flyers to choose their own journey and fly in environments from the desert to outer space in ParadropVR’s original games series Explore and has received several awards since its release.
Flying with friends
Now, Frontgrid is introducing Pod, a new compact version which makes the attraction accessible for more venues, including in-foyer entertainment. The latest innovation also allows the ParadropVR to be operatorless, via a touchscreen kiosk, as well as allowing visitors to fly with their friends in game for the first time.
Pod is accompanied by a new Discover Series of games, where flyers can select their own character and can also collect points as they soar through hoops in the sky. Plus, guests can set up their own profile and join a global online league, which they can view both at the venue and on their own devices. As a result, operators can collect email addresses, allowing them to market to their customers and to set up esports events and competitions, which will drive repeat visits and boost revenue.
Frontgrid can also create custom content for clients, such as bespoke environments, characters, canopies and gamification features. The first location is due to launch later this year, and Frontgird is now taking pre-orders for Pod.
A magic moment
Matt Wells, Co-founder, and CEO of Frontgrid and Co-inventor of ParadropVR says: “With ParadropVR, not only do you feel like you are under canopy, it feels like you are flying, you can also master dips and dives and you can get a real sensation of speed when you get low. You can get closer to things than you would do in real life. And for us, that was like a real moment, the magic moment, where we realized we had built something really exciting.
“Pod is multiplayer, accessible for all ages, designed to be attendant free, includes touchless payment, its easy to install and its also possible to use it for mobile installations. With the multiplayer aspect to Pod, we are really excited as to the community element that will bring. You can fly around with your friends, race them, try to beat each other’s scores.
“As an operator, you will clearly be aware that getting people to repeat play is top of the list. With ParadropVR Pod, you can run events, bring your community back to your venue and run competitions to find the top flyer. Pod represents the future of competitive socialising.”
Last year, Frontgrid provided a ParadropVR for TEKZONE in Saudi Arabia and is about to install two more units into an FEC in Ukraine.
