For the first time in its history, EAG International & VAE featured a dedicated full-day day seminar exploring the impact VR Technology is having on the UK and International amusement and attractions scene.
Show organisers, Swan Events, enlisted the support and guidance of industry trend specialist KWP, and its director Kevin Williams in gathering together knowledgeable speakers and in moderating and coordinating the gathering. Kevin was approached because of his knowledge of the international sector and his previous presentation to the bacta AGM on technology trends impacting the trade.
Kevin Williams opened the EAG & VAE seminar with an overview of the immersive entertainment scene, charting the structure of VR as it pertains to the Out-of-Home Entertainment industry, and its role in driving additional business into the amusements and attractions sector.
After this detailed introduction followed seminar session “What VR Games Work best for you!” Speakers included Devi Koll of A.i. Solve, the company well known for its “WePlayVR” platform, and benefiting from an established track record in developing AR and VR technology for commercial application. Devi revealed the new game content that will be populating their VR system, a platform that already has 12 units deployed in the field since its launch.
Also speaking at this session was Lefi Petersen from Hologate, revealing to seminar attendees the factors for successful VR in the amusements setting. Hologate exhibited their VR platform at the show, generating considerable interest.
“Embracing VR Technology in Amusement” looked at the operation of VR game systems in commercial settings, and also the pitfalls and issues that need to be addressed. The seminar organisers had been lucky to secure two new developers, Tom Hamilton from the new RUSH VR franchise site, and Lee Hazzard from Immation Nation, who both took time from opening their sites to speak to the gathered audience. The two speakers revealed the issues of public-play VR, and how the factors that drive VR in the consumer sector have to be totally revaluated for application in pay-to-play environments. Other operational concerns such hygiene and pricing were also discussed.
“The Reality of Operating VR Hardware” saw a brand-new developer of VR amusement and entertainment systems paired with an established developer of VR attractions for theme park application. Paul Collimore from Immotion explained what had encouraged the company to enter the VR amusement scene, developing a range of dedicated platforms together with operating systems at their Bristol based VRStar venue. Simon Reveley from Figment Productions offered an enlightening view from the developer and producer of VR attractions, the company having developed influential VR attractions such as “Derren Brown’s Ghost Train” and “Galactica”.
“VR Game Content for Commercial Entertainment” allowed the actual game developers to give their side of the story. Luke Noonan of RUST Ltd. revealed some of the secrets that have allowed them to create consumer VR content with sales of millions of units, and then apply this skill set towards creating some of the most popular VR arcade content. The issues of what makes a good consumer game, against the needs of the commercial play environment proved valuable to the seminar audience.
The final session was “VR Predictions” focused on offering a brief overview of the issues and opportunities to watch out for in the near future, and how best for the audience to capitalise on them. Kevin Williams of KWP revealed the issues that will shape the up-coming VR explosion, detailing the new hardware planned for release this year. Kevin also charted some of the pitfalls of over-saturation of new projects, and emphasised the need for business acumen in applying this new technology to existing business models.
Kevin Williams commented: “It was a great honour to be approach by EAG & VAE and bacta to coordinate this event. I was greatly heartened to see how popular it was, with ‘standing room only’ at the sessions. I feel that there is a hunger for knowledge about how VR can benefit the existing amusement trade, as well as a need for more substantive information on what this opportunity has to offer.”
The popularity of this first of a kind seminar will play a part in the development of future sessions at EAG International & VAE.
EAG International & VAE 2019 will take place on 15-17th January 2019
