Asia’s first hyper-reality experience centre opens in Genting Highlands

GENTING HIGHLANDS (Malaysia) — Star Wars fans take note: a multi-sensory, fully immersive experience featuring the award-winning Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire and new Ralph Breaks virtual reality (VR) productions by ILMxLAB is now available in Malaysia.

This highly-anticipated attraction, with its cutting-edge technology and world-class content, was unveiled recently at the newly-built The Void in Resorts World Genting Malaysia’s (RWG) indoor theme park Skytropolis Funland.

Located on the first floor of First World Plaza, The Void spans nearly 7,000sq ft as it the first-of-its-kind hyper-reality (HR) experience centre.

RWG leisure and hospitality executive vice-president Edward Holloway said, “Genting strives to partner with global leaders in their fields and when it comes to VR, The Void represents the success of technology in extending the frontiers of hyper-reality.

“Our guests would be able to break past the barrier of their imagination to experience Star Wars in a way they have never experienced before,” he added.

Echoing the same sentiment, The Void chairman and chief executive officer Craig Watson said, “Our partnership and collaboration with RWG has provided many proud moments for the team at The Void.

“Opening our very first centre in Asia at such an iconic location is a great way to introduce us to the region,” he continued.

Following the grand opening, guests and members of the media were invited to put on the VR gear and walk into the RM10 million (S$3.29 million) facility which currently offers the two unique experiences to the visitors.

THE EXPERIENCE
Having experienced VR several times in the past, I must admit that the HR adventure at The Void takes your imagination to a whole new level – every element in the virtual universe is put into play and what’s immediately noticeable about the adventure is that they are full-body affairs.

Unlike VR, which only incorporates auditory and visual feedback through head mounted displays and headphones, HR maps digital worlds over physical spaces with real-time interactive effects.

Equipped witha helmet-like VR headset and haptic vest that comes with a backpack to power the device, the actual experience at The Void consists of freely roaming through a maze-like environment.

Once the adventure begins, every experience can look and feel completely different, even though you are walking within the same physical space.

The best part is that every physical object such as walls, doors, buttons and chairs you see throughout the journey actually exists in both the real and virtual worlds around you. So, if you happen to spot an object in front of you, there’s likely a visually-modified physical feature that you can reach out and touch.

What takes the whole experience a notch higher is its social feature.

Kick off your adventure with a group of friends or family members and you’ll be able to see them in the virtual world while chatting through a headset-based microphone.

The Void also uses clever and nifty effects such as temperature, wind, heat and scents to create a completely immersive perceived reality along the way.

There are also exciting moments that require both teamwork such as blasting away enemies or escaping from danger zones to complete the mission. MALAY MAIL