New Jersey is a hub of innovation, particularly for tech in the entertainment sphere. The Westfield Garden State Plaza is the home of a new immersive VR experience, the exciting brainchild of Dreamscape, an advanced VR company, in partnership with AMC Theatres.
Dreamscape VR isn’t just about showing off what the tech can do; it’s about using it to tell visually innovative and dynamic stories, with the user at their heart.
Location-Based VR
The rise of location-based VR has been monumental, with many major cities around the world now having their own answer to this unique form of entertainment. The tech has reached the point that it can now support rich 3D worlds, and Dreamscape has managed to position itself as the most promising leader in this area.
This fast-moving sector experienced a bit of a setback due to the pandemic, but it’s now back on its feet and raring to go. If anything, the lull has facilitated technological advancements and allowed the hardware and software to catch up to peoples’ expectations.
Many people own VR headsets and use these at home, but for a fully immersive experience, free from distractions and obstacles, it’s often necessary to go to a specific location like Dreamscape. Large-scale VR simply isn’t feasible at home.
Story-First VR
VR was quickly applied to gaming, but these were often thin on narrative. Rather than taking a video game angle, Dreamscape comes at VR from a cinematic angle. It puts storytelling first, allowing the user to experience a story unfolding around them.
At their New Jersey facility, Dreamscape throws the user straight into a story-like environment. In a museum-style waiting room, they can preview the three different stories that are available to them:
- DreamWorks Dragons: Flight Academy
- Alien Zoo
- Curse of the Lost Pearl
Blending VR with Reality
Dreamscape has taken their tech further than other VR companies, augmenting the experience with real-world elements in a way that could simply not be done at home. Here are some examples of how Dreamscape does this:
Wind effects Dreamscape uses wind machines to compliment their experience, so if you’re flying a dragon, you’ll really feel it. Water effects Small amounts of water is sprayed at the visitor at key moments, helping to make the experience feel more alive. Physical interactions Physical objects such as handrails and surfaces can be felt by the user, installed in the VR space but also present physically.
Other Ways Entertainment Is Going Digital
While VR attractions like Dreamscape show how exciting new tech can be, other types of entertainment are also moving in a digital direction. One example is real money online casinos you can anytime visit and which are becoming a big part of how people have fun online.
They might not use VR headsets, but their goal is similar — to create fun, engaging spaces where people enjoy spending time. Many of them now offer live dealer games, interactive slots, and colourful designs that make playing feel like an event. It’s just one more way that technology is changing how we play, relax, and enjoy something new.
Three Great Stories
At the moment, there are three separate experiences that players can enjoy when visiting the New Jersey Dreamscape location. These have been created to an incredibly high standard, in partnership with AMC.
Each has something different to offer, and the variety ensures that visitors will be counting the days until they can return and play through another story. Whichever you choose, you’ll be dropped into a fully-realised world with a quest to complete.
DreamWorks Dragons: Flight Academy
Based on the unstoppably popular How to Train Your Dragon franchise, DreamWorks Dragons: Flight Academy delivers on the promise of its title. This VR instalment invites you to “enlist in the dragon’s flight academy and help Hiccup and Astrid rescue the village from invaders”.
There’s a whole backstory surrounding Flight Academy, which ties into the films and will feel familiar to fans of the franchise. This is a family-friendly option which will likely prove to be Dreamscape’s biggest hit.
Alien Zoo
Alien Zoo is a sci-fi adventure with an environmental message at its heart. The idea is that, “For the first time ever, the Intergalactic Wildlife Federation is allowing humans to visit the Alien Zoo – an intergalactic refuge containing all kinds of extraordinary and wondrous creatures”.
The player can explore the Alien Zoo and consider all of the ways in which our actions impact our environment. Expect lush visuals and lots of creative creatures.
Curse of the Lost Pearl
For fans of a good old adventure yarn, Curse of the Lost Pearl is perfect. This is a fun quest in the style of an Indiana Jones film. You are sent into the jungles of Mesoamerica, where “the Temple of the Snake God rumbles with anger. You’re on a quest to find the lost pearl, but intruders are not welcome here.”
Completing the quest will take cooperation and a bit of puzzle-solving, so don’t forget to work with your teammates. Curse of the Lost Pearl is a perfect marriage of game and cinema.
Impressive Hardware & Other VR Developments
There’s no denying that VR has come a really long way from the early generations of headsets. Notably, VR has managed to meld itself well with other aspects of entertainment, most prominently with cinema. The film industry in Canada has made a lot of progress with this, and so have places like New Jersey.
As for Dreamscape’s hardware, there’s more than just a headset involved. There’s a lightweight backpack to wear, which contains some of the tech’s inner workings. Also, the hand and foot tracking devices are much smaller and lighter than they used to be. These ensure that all of your movements map onto the in-game character correctly.
When it’s time for visitors to get suited-up before stepping into the VR world, the Dreamscape staff will offer all the assistance you need.
Dreamscape has now set its sights on educational purposes, bringing its technology to students and helping to elevate the experience of learning. It even offers immersive courses, including one that enables biology students to step virtually into the field and watch evolution take place before their eyes. There have even been actual boosts in grades thanks to the use of this innovative VR tech in an educational context.
Conclusion
The Dreamscape Immersive VR experience promises to be not only an unforgettable adventure, but one which is unique enough that it will draw people to the area. The area of location-based VR is particularly exciting at the moment, and this is a prime example of how this technology is being used for the purposes of entertainment. If this New Jersey attraction is anything to go by, the future of VR tech is extremely exciting.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.