Grabbing a drink and hopping into a fantasy world may seem like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it is all possible at Augment Arcade.
Augment Arcade, a new VR bar and arcade in Shaw, is equipped with four HTC Vive machines, separated by curtains to provide a more intimate setting for parties. The arcade also uses gaming technologies by Alienware, NVIDIA and Intel. Each player is given a set of VR goggles and two controllers that wrap around the wrists while using the games.
Augment Arcade is opened on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to midnight and on Saturdays from noon to 8 p.m. Visitors can experience zombie hunts, test their reflexes in Fruit Ninja, explore the world with Google Earth, make art come to life in Google Tilt Brush and play more than 20 other games.
The games are ranked by the players' experience levels. Newer VR users can choose between the first level of games which include Space Pirates and skiing. More seasoned VR users can try their luck fighting zombies or walking through a haunted mansion.
There’s no need to worry about dizzy spells — the VR goggles and technologies have knocked out all of the kinks so that users do not feel nauseated during or after their VR experiences.
Prices for VR sessions start at $30 for general admission, which gives visitors unlimited play time. On the bar’s more crowded days, players use the VR in 15-minute increments. Reservations for up to four people are $60 per hour.
The arcade also has multiplayer games, which are available when groups reserve more than one section.
Augment Arcade became a reality when two teams came together through the DCVR group on Meetup.com. Flash Nightclub’s owners Michael Frye and Afshin Mottaghi were looking to start a new business with VR and needed a team that specialized in the technology. The duo stumbled across the founders of Ekstasis, a VR company that brings virtual reality gear to events and provides location-based entertainment to businesses, on Meetup.com's forum.
“Michael and Afshin put a request out on DCVR looking for VR arcade operators,” said Daniel Tischler, one of the three Ekstasis founders. “I contacted them right away and our teams just hit it off. We didn’t know each other but we had similar ideas.”
Launching in 2017, Augment Arcade originally started as a pop-up as a way of seeing how viable the business would be.
“Having a small pop up, in the beginning, was a smart strategy,” Tischler said. “There weren’t too many risks and we didn’t have to worry about the hassles of signing a lease.”
Now, the venue hosts more than 150 people weekly who come to enjoy food, drinks and the excitement of virtual reality.
Looking forward, Augment wants to mobilize on its success. In 2019, the bar hopes to expand into new locations and also expand its available VR technologies.
Here's an inside look at Augment Arcade's virtual reality wonderland:
