Virtual reality, waxworks and Ghostbusters will collide this year when Madame Tussauds New York host Ghostbusters: Dimension, a virtual reality experience co-developed by the waxworks company, Sony Pictures, and the Void, a VR-development firm. The trio claim the event will combine all of their expertise, to create something akin to a “hyper reality.”
The attraction, which is currently under construction, will feature several rooms, each kitted out with temperature changes, water misting, air-blowers, and physical objects, while will all be combined with virtual reality visuals to create something unique — and all with a Ghostbusters theme.
Toms recently went to visit the set of the Ghostbusters: Dimension experience and discovered that there will actually be two distinct components of the tour that visitors can go on. The first will be guided and won’t feature the VR content, and will be more of a traditional Ghostbusters themed experience. It will feature props from the movies, some wax figures and “ghosts,” in some capacity.
Related: The Void will use reality to transport you to a virtual world
Where The Void’s experience comes in though, is in the second half of Ghostbusters: Dimension. It’s only when you’ve finished the tour that you strap on a VR headset and a digital proton pack, to take on some ghosts yourself.
To make this possible, visitors will all be using the same “Rapture,” system that The Void has developed for its own in-house VR experience. This involves a backpack PC, a bespoke VR headset, and a custom gun accessory to hold on and shoot with.
The PC in the backpack is powered by a Core i7 CPU and a powerful Nvidia graphics card. While we don’t know which model it runs, we were told that it’s a desktop GPU, so it’s possible that there’s a GTX 980MXM module in there to help keep the weight down.
When combined with the vest, which features 22 points of contact that can provide haptic feedback and send more information to the digital installation for simulation, the whole set up weighs around 13 pounds.
Most exciting perhaps is that the Rapture system used on this Ghostbusters: Dimension experience will be compatible with The Void’s own facility. If you try either and create an account at one location, you can login with it at the other, which should allow for unlocks and rewards for those dedicated enough to try them both.
Although The Void still has some time before it launches, the Ghostbusters: Dimension experience is set to open on July 1 and you can pre-order tickets now, starting at $50.
