ENTERTAINMENT REVIEW: Flipswitch VR
(Empire Of Steel - Essenger)
Unless you're a great whopping nerd, you probably haven't spent much time thinking about the gradual evolution of what many people consider to be virtual reality. In truth, the original concept of this technology has grown and spawned into a variety of forms, including augmented reality, mixed reality, and the OG, VR.
In the last five years, various digital realities have really taken off. Companies like Occulus and HTC have taken huge steps in advancing the state of the art. Today, VR stands as a bona-fide way to perform a variety of tasks. You can perform complex medical procedures, leverage the tech to manufacture a detailed part, tour a concept rendering of a new piece of architecture...
...Or, you know, shoot zombies.
Flipswitch VR is a free roam virtual reality experience located in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri just off of Southwest Boulevard and I-35. Their promise is a fully immersive environment where you can engage in a variety of virtual scenarios ranging from clever and complex escape rooms to a run-and-gun escape from zombies. I took the opportunity to experience a bit from column A and a bit from column B.
Is virtual a reality that you should experience?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Hell. Yes. HELL YES.
THE LONG VERSION:
I'm just going to get this out of the way right now: I used to tell people that escape rooms were the best co-op money you could spend with friends.
Not anymore. I had SO MUCH FUN at Flipswitch VR, I can't properly articulate it.
Flipswitch is a rather unassuming space on the inside. There are three large square rooms, each with an ordinary-looking support pillar in the center. A table sits against a wall, lined with computer equipment, and four sets of virtual reality gear rest in the center of each room.
You and three other people really only need to worry about putting a headset on. The headset itself consists of a set of sturdy goggles that cover the upper half of your face, some headphones that you put on over your ears and...that's it. Open your eyes on the inside of the goggles, and you're in whatever world you signed up for. Each environment will have a very clearly visible blue line around its perimeter that you're cautioned not to cross, as doing so would put you in danger of running into a wall, gameplay computers, or staff that were watching you to make sure everyone was doing alright. Once you were comfortable in your new world, you were given some kind of controller to hold in your hands.
When we played the zombie escape scenario -- Arizona Sunshine, in case you were wondering -- the controller was a sturdy piece of plastic shaped like a space marine's rifle. When we played the escape room Corsair's Curse, we swapped the rifle controller out for two hand-held controllers vaguely reminiscient of the old Wii Nunchuck. Both sets of controllers were sturdy, well-made, and were so easy to use that it became second nature as we proceeded through each scenario.
Anyone who has ever played a first person shooter will feel right at home in Arizona Sunshine. You have a gun, there are zombies, and it's your job to fix that second part. The sound design of the game is extremely immersive, and you'll get so caught up in what you're doing that you forget that some of the things in the game aren't really there in real life. There's one point in the game where you have to walk across a narrow beam with a pretty big drop on either side of it. Logically, I knew there would be no consequence for stepping off the beam, but my brain never caught up to that fact. When we got into moving carts or vehicles, I could feel the inertia with my body in spite of my lack of motion. You really do get wrapped up in it! It was over far too soon for my liking, and all I wanted to do was run the scenario again.
Fortunately, once that was over, we were immediately dropped into Horde mode where we were forced to defend a small platform against wave after wave of zombies that were trying to overtake our position. This was also an absolute blast.
Playing Arizona Sunshine and a round or two of Horde will easily chew up an hour. We had the room for another hour yet, so we elected to play their most popular escape room, Corsair's Curse. For that, we put down our guns and picked up the two hand-held controllers for a deeply immersive escape room experience. We managed to finish it in just under an hour, and it, too, was an ABSOLUTE BLAST.
All in all, Flipswitch VR is an outstanding example of how VR gaming as an art has evolved. While the first person combat of Arizona Sunshine was relatively simple, it's only going to be a matter of time before that all expands, and I'll be right there to try it all out. If you enjoy gaming or playing with cutting edge tech, there's no question about it. You must, MUST try Flipswitch.
Some final suggestions and thoughts to leave you with:
- In general, sessions are $30/hr per person. It is worth every penny.
- If you've never done VR before, you'll want to keep your first play session to an hour. Everyone handles VR differently. Some people take to it easily. Some people get dizzy or motion-sick. Some people can't make their eyes focus properly. Make sure the game admins know it's your first time.
- The staff at Flipswitch were all AWESOME.
- For anyone playing Horde or Arizona Sunshine, the aiming mechanics are more akin to using side-arms than long-arms. If you're having trouble shouldering your controller and getting business done, step up to an isosceles stance and do business along your center line rather than at your shoulder. Once I figured that out, my accuracy -- and my enjoyment! -- went up a lot. This becomes really apparent when you're playing Horde.
- When you take your goggles off after a long play session, you may feel disoriented and your eyes may not track properly. This is normal. It's a good idea to give yourself 5-10 minutes after you finish play to be sure you've reoriented yourself.
- Arizona Sunshine and Horde can be a challenge if you don't get organized. Make sure everyone in your party knows what zones in each room they're supposed to be covering and don't forget to keep your head on a swivel. That includes looking up!
Unless you're a great whopping nerd, you probably haven't spent much time thinking about the gradual evolution of what many people consider to be virtual reality. In truth, the original concept of this technology has grown and spawned into a variety of forms, including augmented reality, mixed reality, and the OG, VR.
In the last five years, various digital realities have really taken off. Companies like Occulus and HTC have taken huge steps in advancing the state of the art. Today, VR stands as a bona-fide way to perform a variety of tasks. You can perform complex medical procedures, leverage the tech to manufacture a detailed part, tour a concept rendering of a new piece of architecture...
...Or, you know, shoot zombies.
Flipswitch VR is a free roam virtual reality experience located in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri just off of Southwest Boulevard and I-35. Their promise is a fully immersive environment where you can engage in a variety of virtual scenarios ranging from clever and complex escape rooms to a run-and-gun escape from zombies. I took the opportunity to experience a bit from column A and a bit from column B.
Is virtual a reality that you should experience?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Hell. Yes. HELL YES.
THE LONG VERSION:
I'm just going to get this out of the way right now: I used to tell people that escape rooms were the best co-op money you could spend with friends.
Not anymore. I had SO MUCH FUN at Flipswitch VR, I can't properly articulate it.
Flipswitch is a rather unassuming space on the inside. There are three large square rooms, each with an ordinary-looking support pillar in the center. A table sits against a wall, lined with computer equipment, and four sets of virtual reality gear rest in the center of each room.
You and three other people really only need to worry about putting a headset on. The headset itself consists of a set of sturdy goggles that cover the upper half of your face, some headphones that you put on over your ears and...that's it. Open your eyes on the inside of the goggles, and you're in whatever world you signed up for. Each environment will have a very clearly visible blue line around its perimeter that you're cautioned not to cross, as doing so would put you in danger of running into a wall, gameplay computers, or staff that were watching you to make sure everyone was doing alright. Once you were comfortable in your new world, you were given some kind of controller to hold in your hands.
When we played the zombie escape scenario -- Arizona Sunshine, in case you were wondering -- the controller was a sturdy piece of plastic shaped like a space marine's rifle. When we played the escape room Corsair's Curse, we swapped the rifle controller out for two hand-held controllers vaguely reminiscient of the old Wii Nunchuck. Both sets of controllers were sturdy, well-made, and were so easy to use that it became second nature as we proceeded through each scenario.
Anyone who has ever played a first person shooter will feel right at home in Arizona Sunshine. You have a gun, there are zombies, and it's your job to fix that second part. The sound design of the game is extremely immersive, and you'll get so caught up in what you're doing that you forget that some of the things in the game aren't really there in real life. There's one point in the game where you have to walk across a narrow beam with a pretty big drop on either side of it. Logically, I knew there would be no consequence for stepping off the beam, but my brain never caught up to that fact. When we got into moving carts or vehicles, I could feel the inertia with my body in spite of my lack of motion. You really do get wrapped up in it! It was over far too soon for my liking, and all I wanted to do was run the scenario again.
Fortunately, once that was over, we were immediately dropped into Horde mode where we were forced to defend a small platform against wave after wave of zombies that were trying to overtake our position. This was also an absolute blast.
Playing Arizona Sunshine and a round or two of Horde will easily chew up an hour. We had the room for another hour yet, so we elected to play their most popular escape room, Corsair's Curse. For that, we put down our guns and picked up the two hand-held controllers for a deeply immersive escape room experience. We managed to finish it in just under an hour, and it, too, was an ABSOLUTE BLAST.
All in all, Flipswitch VR is an outstanding example of how VR gaming as an art has evolved. While the first person combat of Arizona Sunshine was relatively simple, it's only going to be a matter of time before that all expands, and I'll be right there to try it all out. If you enjoy gaming or playing with cutting edge tech, there's no question about it. You must, MUST try Flipswitch.
Some final suggestions and thoughts to leave you with:
- In general, sessions are $30/hr per person. It is worth every penny.
- If you've never done VR before, you'll want to keep your first play session to an hour. Everyone handles VR differently. Some people take to it easily. Some people get dizzy or motion-sick. Some people can't make their eyes focus properly. Make sure the game admins know it's your first time.
- The staff at Flipswitch were all AWESOME.
- For anyone playing Horde or Arizona Sunshine, the aiming mechanics are more akin to using side-arms than long-arms. If you're having trouble shouldering your controller and getting business done, step up to an isosceles stance and do business along your center line rather than at your shoulder. Once I figured that out, my accuracy -- and my enjoyment! -- went up a lot. This becomes really apparent when you're playing Horde.
- When you take your goggles off after a long play session, you may feel disoriented and your eyes may not track properly. This is normal. It's a good idea to give yourself 5-10 minutes after you finish play to be sure you've reoriented yourself.
- Arizona Sunshine and Horde can be a challenge if you don't get organized. Make sure everyone in your party knows what zones in each room they're supposed to be covering and don't forget to keep your head on a swivel. That includes looking up!
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