AMSTERDAM – Vicon’s new comprehensive location-based virtual reality (LBVR) system, Origin, is poised to make its way to virtual arcades across Europe thanks to a new partnership between the Academy Award-winning optical system leader Vicon and the Dutch-based virtual entertainment provider VR Arcade.
Vicon’s Origin system consists of four brand new components – Viper cameras, Pulsar tracking clusters, Beacon wireless network receivers and the Evoke software – all specifically designed to be used out of the box to create a fully immersive LBVR setup. Thanks to unbreakable tracking and auto-healing software that can recalibrate between sessions, once the system is installed, operators can relax and focus on making the user experience as enjoyable as possible. Those advantages made it the obvious choice for VR Arcade as it considered plans for expansion.
“Roaming around a virtual environment with complete freedom of movement is one of the most immersive gaming experiences imaginable, but that hasn’t been easy to create,” said Sander Bos, VR Arcade CEO. “Vicon offers cutting-edge technology that does exactly what we need it to do out of the box. When we saw the capabilities of Origin, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities.”
VR Arcade’s upcoming state-of-the-art virtual arcade in Delfgauw, Netherlands, will feature 40 Vicon Viper cameras per area, tracking four Vicon Pulsar active marker clusters on each player. All movements are recorded and sent to Vicon’s Evoke software in real-time, transporting players into a custom-built game world. VR Arcade currently offers two unique LBVR games, both developed in-house: “Zombie Apocalypse,” where players face off against a horde of zombies, and “Alien Defense,” which challenges participants to defeat waves of alien invaders while determining their weak points.
Players in these virtual worlds will be equipped with a mobile backpack and a VR headset, along with a peripheral device for use in the game. One of the advantages of Vicon’s Origin system is that the Pulsar cluster can be added to an existing object for use in a game world. If there is a failure or the peripheral device is damaged, it can easily be replaced, with Vicon’s Evoke software registering the change and adapting to it in the game on the fly. That makes development of future titles that rely on external peripherals easier than ever, as the cluster can be switched from object to object as needed. Future updates will also allow players to select the appearance of their in-game avatar, which will then be generated by Evoke.
“We are thrilled to see what Origin can do in the hands of innovative and creative minds like the team at VR Arcade,” said Vicon CEO Imogen Moorhouse. “The LBVR market is just in its infancy, and Origin will help developers around the world expand and create things no one has even dreamed of before.”