🚀 go-pugleaf

greg@serveme.chi.il.us (Gregory Gulik) writes:
> I was just reading the Reader and "The City File" and I quote:
>
> "Now that North Pier Chicago hosts both the BattleTech Center
>  and the Virtuality Center, its promoters claim it is 'the
>  largest virtual reality destination in the world.'"
>
> I know what BattleTech is, but what is the Virtuality Center.

Virtuality is an honest-to-goodness virtual reality system, as opposed
to Battletech's sit-in-the-cockpit flight simulator style setup.  There
are two styles of Virtuality machines: stand-up and sit-down.  I've only
ever played the stand-up version.

You stand on a low platform inside a sensor ring.  You've got a beltpack
strapped on, and stereo goggles.  I don't know exactly what they're
using for sensors, they sense your body position within the ring:
whether or not you're kneeling, what direction you're facing, etc.  The
helmet does the same for your head position.  You hold a pistol grip in
your right hand; its position is also detected.

They feed all this into computers, which show you a first-person
perspective in 3D (stereo goggles, remember).  Move your head or your
body, the view moves accordingly.  Move your pistol-grip, you can see
your arm move in cyberspace.  It's a pretty good effect.

The basic game (they have other games as well) is called Dactyl Terror.
The "world" consists of a central square platform, and stairs leading up
from its edges to four smaller square platforms.  There are various
obstacles scattered about.  Object:  Shoot or be shot.  Also, a
pterodactly flies through periodically.  If he comes for you, shoot him
or be prepared for a really tragic death.

They had it up at Randhurst Mall for about a month before they moved to
North Pier.  The cost was $4 for about a 4 minute game.  Not exactly
cost-effective entertainment, but worth doing once or twice to see what
it's like.  I'm quite fond of the idea of virtual reality, but the game
itself wasn't so compelling as to make me play it over and over.
Besides, the goggles give me a headache.

The sit-down version uses the goggles, but no body sensors.  When it was
at Randhurst they had a Battletech-like game for it.  I think they've
also got a racing game and maybe even a flight sim now.

This isn't the be-all and end-all of virtual reality, but it's a good
introduction to the possibilities.

-- 
Steven King, Proprietor of the PShrink Wrap BBS        veck@pshrink.chi.il.us
I *do* speak for the company!                          data: +1 708 540 6772