Revival Institute tours and observation : the VR experience : an investigation of the necessity of interactivity in location based entertainment

The smallest, most insignificant decisions can have the most life-altering consequences. For many people, it’s difficult to imagine the Butterfly Effect, where minor actions can have a massive effect on the future. Using virtual reality (VR) to simulate a themed dark ride, this project investigates the importance of choice not only within contemporary theme park attractions but in everyday life as well. Revival Institute Tours and Observation: The VR Experience was created primarily using animation software including Autodesk Maya and Unreal Engine 4, and is best experienced using a head-mounted display (HMD) watching the attraction in real time. Virtual reality was a necessary medium to use as opposed to normal film. Theme park rides are experienced in a 360-degree view, and the viewer directs their attention at what they want to focus on. A film offers only the perspective decided on by the director. Near the end, the narrative is interrupted by a crossroads where audience members are forced to choose between two ethical paths. This decision, unknown to the guests, drastically alters the life of a young child, who they come face to face with in whichever ending they chose. Contemporary dark rides, like most narrative mediums, remain almost entirely linear with a single story thread throughout. Providing choice in the outcome of a story offers a new level of interactivity and control not yet explored in location-based entertainment. The use of VR simulates the experience of riding the attraction as if it existed physically, something not effectively replicated with a flat screen.