![]() Like an elephant in the room that no one wants to mention, the most apparent drawback is the human-machine interface that can lead to feeling nauseous. What’s remarkable about the DE-COMPOSED experience is the paradox of feeling isolated and lost while exploring the labyrinth of a virtual mansion, knowing that your physical body is sitting in close proximity to your friends seated beside you. Similar to traditional escape rooms, communication is often key to solving puzzles and the virtual realm is no exception. “Did you break something?” asked my teammate, who heard the smash in his headset while looking in another corner of the room for clues. It fell from my virtual hands and shattered on the floor. The sound was so good that I felt compelled to apologize after dropping a porcelain teacup. The stereo sound quality is superb, allowing players to feel immersed in the virtual environment while also revealing important game clues. And while two buttons may seem reminiscent of the NES and novice by today’s gaming standards, they were oddly reassuring when faced with the complexity of experiencing a new dimension - and the added pressure of solving puzzles with limited time. We quickly learn how to open doors and pick up objects with the movement of our hands and two buttons on each controller. “We’re going to put you in the virtual demo room first so you can play around a bit and get used to everything,” says the Game Master while standing nearby.Įach of us clumsily navigates around the virtual space with our avatars, distinguished by a primary colour such as red, blue, and green. But as you look down to your hands, only the black controllers appear – and soon transform into astonishingly vivid digital hands. ![]() All that remains in your field of view (initially) is a light grey abyss. The gear fits snug and filters out the physical world. GAME PLAYĪfter each player is seated in a swivel chair that turns 360 degrees, an Oculus Rift headset is handed over from an overhead pulley system along with headphones, a microphone, and tracked controllers for each hand. “We can make a world as intricate, large, or as confusing as we want without having to deal with real-world limitations,” Hu explains, noting that the new escape room allows players to reach beyond the physical confines of a small room to explore an elaborate virtual maze, interact with a variety of musical instruments and to battle a bad guy with virtual swords. Located in a dark room on the upper level of Room Escape Ottawa, DE-COMPOSED opens to the public on Friday June 9 and Apt613 was invited for a preview. ![]()
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