The Repository: Universal Orlando’s new VR horror experience scared us silly

[Halloween is a great context for refining intense presence experiences; this story is from IGN, where it includes more images and a 1:16 minute video. More details are available from The Washington Times, and the attraction’s website. –Matthew]

Universal Orlando's Repository uses VR

The Repository: Universal Orlando’s New VR Horror Experience Scared Us Silly

New theme park attraction proves VR isn’t just for videogames anymore.

By Matt Cabral
7 October 2016

Spend a day at Universal Orlando’s two connected theme parks and you’ll likely be asked to don a pair of plastic 3D glasses. Whether going toe-to-tentacle with Doctor Octopus in The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man or facing a fire-breathing dragon in Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, most of the parks’ coolest rides rely on an extra dimension to deliver a more immersive experience.

Enter the resort’s latest attraction, The Repository, however, and you’ll be asked to put on a far more sophisticated piece of headgear. The horror-themed experience—which runs on selected nights through October 31st as part of the resort’s annual Halloween Horror Nights event—puts thrill-seeking patrons under a pair of virtual reality goggles before letting them loose in an alternate, paranormal world.

While other parks have experimented with VR—or announced plans to do so—the projects have largely integrated the tech into existing attractions. The Repository, though, has been built from the ground up to deliver an experience that incorporates, according to Universal’s Senior Entertainment Director of Art and Design T.J. Mannarino, “Three interactive models: live theater, great technology, and group puzzle-solving.”

As I discovered during my recent trip to the other side, it’s the clever combination of these elements, further complemented by talented actors, detailed sets, and sense-tingling practical effects, that make The Repository one of the most immersive and intimate experiences you’ll find in a theme park or behind a pair of VR goggles.

Before I enter the VR portion of the attraction, I’m ushered into an ancient artifact-laden warehouse that would make Indiana Jones’ jealous. Joined by three other brave souls, we begin ogling the creepy props while a live actor in black ops gear stands motionless, watching our every move. Soon a mad professor type—complete with un-tucked shirt and Einstein hair—storms from his desk and frantically speaks of the great danger we’re in.

Before he can finish explaining how we might lift a deadly curse befalling this place, the soldier literally pushes me, albeit gently, and orders us into the next room. Fair warning to those with personal space issues: The actors in the Repository are allowed to touch you, belittle you and, in my specific case, call you “cupcake” if you’re not moving fast enough.

The next two rooms see us interacting with a psychologically unhinged man obsessed with secret keys and a stern woman in a lab coat wielding a Taser baton, respectively. When not zapping the human test subject behind her, the latter actor barks instructions regarding what we must do to reverse the curse once inside the VR-enabled portal.

Broken into groups of two, we’re whisked into separate rooms, positioned over an ancient symbol etched on the floor, and quickly outfitted with VR gear by folks in hazmat suits. As Mannarino later explained, this sequence represents “a scientific reverse of the paranormal portal that allows us to be transported to the supernatural place.”

Sure enough, with gear equipped and wielding a color-coded cube I’d obtained from the key fanatic, I find myself in a centuries-old library. Tasked with searching for symbols, I tentatively explore my virtual surroundings. Thanks to the attraction’s RF tracking technology, I needn’t worry about tripping over tangles of wires or being tethered to any hardware. Similarly, there’s little chance of bumping into my partner, as the VR goggles are displayed in the virtual dimension as glowing masks that nicely fit the fiction’s theme. The physical space hosting the virtual section also sports plenty of square footage—20×20—so, unlike a living room VR session, there’s no fear of fumbling over furniture or your cat.

As I begin spotting the glowing symbols needed to break the curse, the library catches fire. Flames rapidly consume the virtual space I’m standing in, but not before I’m transported to a new paranormal plane. Now atop a tower, with the night sky stretching as far as I can see, my search continues. Whipping winds welcome a colony of bats, as well as a menacing voice urging me to “give up the keystones.” My non-compliance causes the surface beneath my feet to break away, bit by bit, until my partner and I are corralled into a tiny spot in the middle of the room.

We’re saved by an extraction unit—if you consider a haunted graveyard a safe place—but are threatened by black, glowing figures, dubbed “dark entities”, that aggressively float around us. Upon spying more of the glowing, puzzle-solving symbols through a thick virtual fog, we’re rescued from this alternate realm. With VR gear removed by the hazmat team, we’re rejoined by our other two members, and sent into the “Temple of the Dead” to arrange our cubes/keys on a creepy altar.

As a timer ticks down and the altar spits heavy mist our way, we frantically attempt to crush the curse by correctly aligning the “keystones” based on the intel collected in the portal. Flashing red lights and lots of smoke signal our ultimate failure, though I’m later told success is met with white lights and angelic music. With my curse-killing mission concluded, I exit The Repository, collect my composure, and attempt to figure out what the hell just happened to me.

The attraction is a wild ride from start to finish, from the absorbing live performances to the expertly detailed sets. Surprisingly, though, it’s the clever collision of VR and practical effects that can trick your mind into believing you’ve entered another dimension. While in the virtual world, for example, you can sense heat from the library fire, feel wind blowing past you on the tower, and even have your hair fluttered by bats. The latter effect, as well as the “dark entities”, is created by actors maneuvering around participants with puppets and other props.

The effectiveness of this immersion-ratcheting recipe isn’t lost on Advanced Technology Director at Universal Creative Tom Geraghty: “We find that a very small amount of external senses really goes a long way in VR, whether it’s motion, wind, or just the implication that there’s bats around you.” Indeed, if you suffer from a crippling fear of winged rodents, best steer clear of The Repository.

The attraction may also alienate those unwilling to pony up the additional $49.99 it costs to have their passport stamped in the paranormal world. For the VR geek or horror nerd, though, it’s a premium experience that might be hard to pass up. While it’s not included in the standard Halloween Horror Nights’ admission, it’s far more personal, interactive, and innovative than anything else offered at the annual scare-fest. And at 30 minutes, it’s also a much deeper experience than your standard 90-second thrill ride.

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