This Kelowna arcade is not just a place to play, it’s making its own game

• Arcadia Virtual Reality Lounge
• Have different VR experiences to choose from
• Started developing their own game called Critical Mass

Going to the arcade may conjure up images of the 1980s, but one local company is bringing the experience into the future with virtual reality (VR) games.

Arcadia Virtual Reality Lounge is a space dedicated to providing people of all ages with immersive VR experiences.

“It’s not like a video game where you’re sitting behind a desk or sitting on the couch with a controller,” Erik Madsen, owner and CEO, told Kelowna10. “You are the controller. You are the person in VR. You are the character.”

The arcade has a variety of experiences on offer, ranging from a standard booth with over 100 games to choose from, to a racing simulator, and a hyper reality boost which uses haptic technology. Haptics is technology that creates the sensation of touch for the user.

“You are that character and everything around you feels like it’s actually happening,” he said.

Madsen said he’s always enjoyed storytelling, and video games are a great medium to share stories, as the user completes quests and controls the journey of the character.

“You embody a character and have that story interact with you rather than just seeing it on screen,” he explained. “It’s the next storytelling medium and it’s so cool to share those experiences with everybody.”

A couple of years ago, Madsen and his team decided to begin developing their own game with the goal of using their own storytelling abilities and creative technology.

Critical Mass is a VR shooter set in a dystopian cyberpunk world. It’s the first game the team has developed, and Madsen hopes it will be released to other VR arcades around the world later this year.

The trailer was recently shared on Facebook.

Madsen took this reporter through a demo, and it’s easily one of the craziest experiences I’ve had.

I could walk around the actual room and everywhere I looked, I was surrounded by a virtual environment. At one point, I had to walk along the edge of a skyscraper, and it honestly felt as though I could fall any minute.

Even though I was in a small room with a foam floor, I was taken into another world where my new reality was the game.

“It’s so much fun to hop in and just come up with new things that haven’t been done before, or that you have no idea about, but it’s a lot of work, and there’s a lot of sleepless nights,” he said with a smile.