美国国家公共电台 NPR On Six Flags' Virtual Reality Coaster, The Ride Is Just Half The Thrill

On Six Flags' Virtual Reality Coaster, The Ride Is Just Half The Thrill

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

There was a time when an upside down loop was a big enough thrill on a roller coaster - not anymore. At Six Flags Magic Mountain here in Southern California, the New Revolution Virtual Reality Coaster hurdles you up, down and around while you're wearing VR goggles - well, maybe not you, but Corey Takahashi. He tried it and has a review.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Welcome back, riders. How was that ride?

COREY TAKAHASHI, BYLINE: My interest in this ride is a little different from Magic Mountain's core demo of teen, 20-something thrill-seekers. I'm a professor at Syracuse University. And I have a fascination with virtual reality. I've experimented with nearly everything. But a VR roller coaster - well, that's something new. As I walk up to the ride, I look like a fish out of water with my audio gear, glasses and wingtip shoes. High school students Dylan George and Azael Fregoso approach me.

Any anxiety?

DYLAN GEORGE: I'm more excited than scared. But I - I don't know. It all depends on the ride, how intense it is.

AZAEL FREGOSO: I'm terrified.

TAKAHASHI: Still, we get on the coaster. And ride supervisor Tori Gillett fits me for the VR headset, which secures a smartphone in front of my eyes.

TORI GILLETT: Chin up, please.

TAKAHASHI: OK.

GILLETT: Thank you. And what do you see?

TAKAHASHI: I see turrets. I see gun turrets.

GILLETT: OK. So you remember, on your right-hand side of your goggles, you use your pointing finger to shoot the gun.

TAKAHASHI: OK.

I can see out of the cockpit of an aircraft I'm about to fly. As the countdown to liftoff begins, I'm struck with terror. I heard and felt the lap-bar lock into place, but I can't see whether I've fastened my seatbelt.

(Laughter) Is my seatbelt buckled?

GILLETT: Yeah, your seatbelt's all buckled and everything. You're all good to go.

TAKAHASHI: Oh, OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: All right guys, enjoy your ride, the New Revolution.

TAKAHASHI: The scenes in the goggles exaggerate the real world twists, turns and loops. Our first major drop looks like we're falling almost straight down in the VR goggles, though it's more gradual in real life.

UNIDENTIFIED RIDERS: (Screaming).

TAKAHASHI: The ride is more of a first-person shooter video game than a story with a narrative arc. But parts of it remind me of "Blade Runner" and "Inception."

This is crazy. There's a building collapsing. There's a building collapsing right now.

UNIDENTIFIED RIDERS: (Screaming).

TAKAHASHI: It's disorienting and exhilarating. The two and a half minutes seem short as the ride ends, even though I feel mild nausia setting in.

We just landed. It's like an aircraft carrier.

The ride's biggest shortcoming was sound. Audio could have been as immersive as the visuals, though perhaps the designers figured that hearing other riders' screams was enough.

OK, big breath, deep breaths, I'm almost recovered. How about you all?

GEORGE: Yeah.

FREGOSO: Yeah.

KAYLA SOTO: Yeah.

TAKAHASHI: I ask Dylan George and Kayla Soto why they'd want virtual reality on top of an already crazy experience.

GEORGE: Because those rides, you just sit down and you watch a screen. This one, you're actually on a ride, in a world, and you're interacting with this. So I think that's really, like, huge and awesome.

SOTO: Felt like we were in a video game, so that was fun. It gave you another thrill that a roller coaster can't give.

TAKAHASHI: With VR, theme parks can change rides with software instead of years of construction. My shirt's soaked with sweat. My mind and body's unnerved, and it'll be at least a half hour before I feel comfortable driving the freeway. It's something to try at least once. For NPR News, I'm Corey Takahashi in Valencia, Calif.