TheGeekFreak32

What’s up freaks! 

In this week’s blog, I attended the grand opening of Los Virtuality in Santa Ana. This was my very first time trying a virtual reality system, commonly known as VR. I’m sure that most people reading this blog have heard or used a set before; however, that was not my case.

A good friend of mine tagged me in the Los Virtuality event that was posted on their Facebook page a few days ago. My friend, who knows that I’m working on this blog, thought that it would be a great topic to cover for the blog and expose myself to this VR thing. Also, because there aren’t many “gaming” events going on around L.A. right now, my choices were limited either way.

After doing a little research on Yelp about Los Virtuality, I  found out that they are ranked high in the VR industry here in L.A. County. They are a “5-star” experience and most of their comments seem to be fairly good.

Compared to last week’s event, there was no inauguration time, so for once I didn’t feel the pressure of being late, or having to be on the freeway by a certain time. 

The 52-minute drive is not as bad when you are listening to a good podcast, which by the way, I’m also new to that industry, but that’s another story.

The new facility is located next to an enormous mall center. Despite not being in the same property as the mall, this mini-plaza also has many stores and fast-food restaurants—which are convenient after an hour-long session of VR.

As soon as I walked into the place, I was impressed with how big the facility was. I thought that the place would be full of other gaming machines, just like a typical arcade place. But this place was different. There were around 10 headsets connected to PC-monitors and those monitors connected to tv screens.

When I walked in, a tall-blonde-guy named Sergi welcomed me and asked me if it was my first time trying VR. I don’t know if my face was reflecting some kind of amusement that he was able to identify me as a newby, but I nodded yes and told me to follow him to the back where his desk was.

By the way, Sergi had a funny European-like accent. 

Sergi explained to me that because it was their grand opening, they were letting guests try the VR for free for the first 15 minutes. After that, it would normally cost $35 per hour. However, they were doing a 30% off, so that day was $25 per hour.

He walked me to one of the screens and told me to put the headset on. He then asked me what kind of game I wanted to try. I told him that any sport-game would be fine. But because this was my very first time using a VR set, Sergi played the “Richie’s Plank” experience, in which once the user puts the headset on, you walk into an elevator that takes you a very tall building and it gives you the feeling that you’re going to fall.

Here’s a link to the exact video that I “experienced”:

After playing around with controls and feeling more comfortable with the headset, Sergi asked me If I wanted to try one of his favorite games. The “Beat Saber.”

In this game, you essentially feel like Obi-Wan Kenobi or Darth Vader, if you’re part of the dark side. The simulator gives you two light-sabers, one blue and one red, and you have to cut the cubes that are coming at you really fast (some cubes are blue and others are red), so you have to cut the blue cubes with the blue lightsaber and vice versa. 

Here’s a link that VR experience:

I was so immersed in that lightsaber game that once Sergi told me that my 15 minutes had passed, I immediately paid for the hour-long experience. After all, it was only $25

After my hour-long session concluded, I was sweating like a pig. Doing the whole VR experience made me sweat the same way a regular workout at gym does. I also felt that my brain had one helluva workout as well, doing all that hand-to-eye coordination.

Once I concluded my session, I thanked Sergi for his hospitality and he asked me to recommend the place to my family and friends, which I will. So if you don’t have any plans during a weekend and you are looking for something fun and cheap, I highly recommend you going to a VR place. They will literally take you to a new reality to ease your mind for a few hours.

There are plenty of other games that I will definitely try sometime during this semester.

Well freaks, you reached the end of this blog. But don’t worry, I’ll be back next week with a new adventure and something new to highlight in the gaming community. Until then, carry on with your lives and play those consoles until they overheat!

Like Mr. Spock once said, “Live long and prosper.”