The European Coaster Club hosted its Annual Coaster Meeting (ACM) at the Holovis UK Innovation Campus.
There, the adrenaline enthusiasts were given a taste of what to expect. They were able to experience the multisensory immersive media and motion based forms of entertainment and Mixed Reality experiences of the future.
The club members recognised that high impact thrill rides needs to be accompanied by a compelling narrative. This is delivered through immersive pre-shows and the emergence of the Holovis MediaCoaster™ solutions. They also took this opportunity to present Holovis with an award for Outstanding Achievement. It was for ‘significant contribution for advancing the technology and thrills in theme parks across the globe.’
European Coaster Club in the VR CAVE
Justin Garvanovic is the founder of the European Coaster Club. He said, “We have been following the work of Holovis for the last few years and the amazing work that they are pioneering, from Augmented Reality experiences like The Battle For Cedar Point, to the Immersive Elevator MediaCoaster™ alongside their partners S&S. This attraction looks especially exciting to us as ride enthusiasts. It brings together a great thrill ride and Holovis’ ability to create amazing stories. Uniquely it will be featured before, during and after the ride itself.”
The 55 strong group were able to experience a wide range of Virtual and Augmented Reality solutions. Developed by Holovis, these included behind the scenes designs in the VR CAVE using RideView™ VR development software and reinforcing safety messages in the Near Miss Simulator. In addition, they were also able to freely explore whole virtual worlds and gaming in the Holovis HVR solutions. This is an exhilarating, tetherless wide-area tracked VR attraction.
Gripping Narratives and Gamification
The group experienced true 3D in a highly immersive projection dome. They also took on Jungle Crisis. This is a two player MotionDome™ experience where 360˚ immersive media is synched perfectly with motion, spatial audio, SFX and incredibly accurate interactivity tracked using InterAct™ for the ultimate scalable gaming experience. With the media rendered in real-time the exact experience is different depending on the decisions people make in the game.
Peter Cliff is Creative Director at Holovis. He said, “Seeing the reactions of the traditionally coaster bound group as they experienced the different elements throughout the day was incredible. It has reinforced our findings that gripping narratives and gamification of experiences and attractions will make people want to ride again. They will want to beat high scores and discover new elements. They will also want to delve deeper into hidden stories. The park can evolve or seasonally customise these at any time.”
Holovis was recently recognised as the ninth fastest growing SME Exporter in the UK.