Universal\u2019s Horror Unleashed<\/a> and Meow Wolf\u2019s Omega Mart, and like those exhibits, it aims to transport us to another place. Unlike those two, which rely on physical sets, practical effects, lighting, and sound to create their illusions, Interstellar Arc is almost entirely intangible\u2014a fact that becomes apparent when I pull my mask off for a moment and realize we\u2019re groping around in a giant blue room that\u2019s empty outside of the network of railing that guides us.<\/p>\nInterstellar Arc is the most sustained and impressive use of VR I\u2019ve ever seen. It\u2019s also more proof that the value of VR might be pretty limited. During the hour-long expedition I walk along what appears to be a circular path spiraling through the center of the space station, in a gravity-defying illusion that evokes 2001. I follow that fox towards glowing golden orbs, where, in its human form, it explains the science behind this project and the Earth-like planet we\u2019re trying to colonize, while also warning us of repeating the same mistakes that forced us to leave our planet in the first place. At one point a giant Carl Sagan appears to briefly explain the cosmos and humanity\u2019s attempts to understand it. It\u2019s basically a school lecture inside a video game.<\/p>\n
For that reason Interstellar Arc also gives me more reason to question the long-term value of VR. It\u2019s an accomplishment, alright, but not one I especially enjoyed\u2014and one that makes it clear VR still has a good way to go to create visions that have any weight or soul to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Interstellar Arc\u2019s VR is a little blurry, and unless I\u2019m holding on to the space station\u2019s ever-present railing, there\u2019s no sense of any physical connection between what I\u2019m seeing and what I\u2019m doing. There\u2019s no weight to any of it\u2014which is obviously an inherent problem with VR, but still one worth noting. It never quite makes me sick, though, which is a step up for VR. The most striking moment is when I see a torii with a view of Mt. Fuji at sunrise on the other side of its posts; when I walk through the gate, I\u2019m suddenly surrounded by the golden light of that image, as if it transported me to Japan, with the space station now only visible through the gate\u2019s opening. Other than that unexpected trick, Interstellar Arc\u2019s visual delights are limited, muted, with the nondescript style of a generic sci-fi video game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If immersing yourself in a 360 degree version of a video game sounds fun, note that Interstellar Arc is deadly serious about its mission. It\u2019s an incredibly earnest explanation of how we could theoretically relocate all of humanity to a planet hundreds of light-years away\u2014and unfortunately that earnestness makes it all a little boring. It\u2019s a dry hour, counting on the presumed awe of immersion to keep guests interested for the whole show, and then hitting them with edutainment so light on the \u2018tainment that it makes 1980s EPCOT seem like a joyride. That sincerity and total aversion to cheap thrills is legitimately commendable, but the script could still use some levity. Nobody will hear you laugh in this space.<\/p>\n
Interstellar Arc does try to dress its science up in a couple of ways. There\u2019s a nod to gamification in the form of collectibles; silvery blue orbs are often seen suspended in the distance, and if I reach towards them, they\u2019ll float towards me. The VR headset keeps track of how many I\u2019ve found like they\u2019re stars in Super Mario 64, giving me a final count at the end. There\u2019s also a photo tool in the headset, complete with selfie mode; if I jab the air with my right hand, like I\u2019m pushing a button, it\u2019ll turn my visor into a camera, letting me snap photos of my orange-suited stand-in all throughout the space station. Links to those \u201cin-game\u201d photos are emailed to me as I check out of Interstellar Arc, letting me download them at my leisure. It also rewards me with Xbox-style achievements throughout, no doubt in hopes of getting me to return to try to 100% it. None of it provides the hook that Interstellar Arc needs, though\u2014the thing that would turn it from a tech demo\/university lecture into a human, lifelike world worth visiting.<\/p>\n
Interstellar Arc admirably strives to be educational, entertaining, emotional, and eco-conscious all at once. It only pulls off the first and last of those four, and unfortunately it\u2019s the other two that are most crucial to connecting with an audience. It might focus on humanity\u2019s future, but it lacks the humanity of something like its AREA15 neighbor, Omega Mart, not to mention its sense of wonder and other-worldliness. Interstellar Arc aims for the stars, but never really takes off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Time moves fast. 260 years can zip by in the blink of an eye. That\u2019s how long it…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":422287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[158,67,132,68,729,730],"class_list":{"0":"post-422286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-virtual-reality","8":"tag-technology","9":"tag-united-states","10":"tag-unitedstates","11":"tag-us","12":"tag-virtual-reality","13":"tag-vr"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115656925032032749","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}