Research: Team day.

Last week, members of the SparkedEcho team went on an immersive technology adventure at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex. 

Domenica Reinoso Montalvo and Tyler Austin, our Arts Assistants, wrote this blog about the trip and what they learnt about immersive experiences.

​We went to ESCAPE HUNT and took part in their Alice in Puzzleland VR experience, and we also visited ELECTRIC GAMEBOX to play their Ticket to Mars game.

Alice in Puzzleland was about stepping into Wonderland, where the Hatter has been accused of stealing the Queen’s Tarts. With Alice nowhere to be seen, it’s time for you to fill her shoes! The aim of the game was to find clues in a vast environment, and solve puzzles to inevitably bring down the Red Queen! But not without a challenge of course!

We used VR equipment (HTC VIVE), and found ourselves getting lost in the colourful architecture of the world, and completely brain boggled by some of the puzzles.

We managed to complete the game within the time limit, and defeat the Red Queen! Believe it or not, we were actually only 1 of 4 groups that have managed to complete the game - will you be the next winner?

Next up was Electric Gamebox, that invites you to step into a fully-private, interactive digital room. It features projection mapping, touch screen walls, motion tracking and surround sound to immerse yourself within the adventure.

Whether you’re being graded by aliens, searching for rare martian minerals or teaming up with James Bunny to take down the baddies in Casino Tropicale,  Electric Gamebox is about bringing people together through shared play, with a mission to reinvent how we play video games.

Teamwork was the aim of the game with this experience but also a challenge in a small room. With retro hats to colour code each player, we found ourselves flying through the games. This would be perfect for a younger audience, but still a wholesome experience for a family or team mates (as you can see in the image).

Could you beat our score and make it to the top 5?
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Written by Domenica Reinoso Montalvo and Tyler Austin.