What it is:
The Void’s Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire is an immersive virtual reality experience that places visitors inside the Star Wars universe. A clever wireless rig allows guests to freely roam a large virtual space that is mapped onto a physical maze so that you can actually reach out and touch objects such as buttons, walls, seats, and droids.
Who’s it for:
Star Wars fans and anybody looking to try out the absolute bleeding-edge in VR entertainment. It also makes a great date.
Some background:
This thing was built by a company called The Void. If you aren’t familiar, The Void creates walkthrough VR experiences that use all sorts of tricks to keep the VR illusion going way past the limits of a typical headset. The first large-scale consumer-facing application of this technology opened in 2016 as a Ghostbusters-themed experience at Madame Tussaud’s in New York. This new Star Wars experience is the latest, and is currently running at The Void locations in Downtown Disney in Anaheim, CA; Disney Springs in Orlando, FL; Glendale Galleria in Glendale, CA; and Westfield Stratford City, London, UK.
I tried out the experience at the Disney Springs location on a recent visit to the Orlando area. Tickets cost roughly $30 to $35 (or £30-£35 for the London location).
Of course, the whole thing was made in partnership with Lucasfilm. “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire was a true collaboration between ILMxLAB and The Void. From concept to development to its first public appearance, it took us less than a year,” says Cliff Plumer, CEO of The Void. “As the first project to collaborate with the Walt Disney Company on one of the biggest IPs in the world, it was thrilling and frightening all at the same time. We knew going into it that the quality of work and the bar would be raised high. We had no choice but to achieve what Walt Disney Studio and Star Wars fans expected."
Going forward, Plumer says the company’s VR theaters are designed to be flexible so that future stories or IPs can be brought into existing theaters with minimal hassle. (Personally, I’d love to see the Lucasfilm partnership put visitors into the world of Indiana Jones. So if they’re listening…)
What it’s like:
At its best, virtual reality is a transportive experience. You may actually be in a fluorescent-lit office, but with your eyes and ears covered by a headset, it might as well be the Matrix.
That is, of course, until you move more than a few feet or try to touch anything in this virtual world. Headset cords and the inability to feel objects quickly conspire to shatter the illusion.
Enter The Void: A Utah-based company that creates large-scale VR experiences that allow users to freely roam through a large, maze-like environment. The best part: Physical objects such as walls, buttons, and chairs exist in both the real and virtual worlds. So if there’s an object in front of you in a Void VR experience, there’s likely a physical feature that you can reach out and touch. The Void experience is also a social one. Bring some buddies, and you can "see" them in the virtual world while chatting through a headset-based microphone.
Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire isn’t just the biggest Void project ever—it’s also perhaps the most entertaining VR experience currently available to the public. After getting geared up with a backpack-based computer rig and headset, guests are debriefed on their mission by a video of Rogue One actor Diego Luna. The gist of it all (which takes place sometime before Rogue One in Star Wars canon): Disguise yourself as a Stormtrooper and infiltrate an Imperial base in order to steal something or another.
But really, none of that matters. What does matter is that you, lowly Star Wars fan, are able to live out your childhood fantasies of grabbing a blaster and laying waste to a legion of Stormtroopers. There are a few nifty effects along the way (riding a skiff over a lava planet is coupled with a heating effect and the disconcerting smell of barbecue), and the stakes feel real as you fend off Stormtroopers after word gets out that you and your rebel scum friends aren't supposed to be there. There’s even a clever moment that requires both teamwork and problem-solving to advance: Some members of your party will need to blast away baddies while one person focuses on solving a simple puzzle game. The animation is also much better than The Void's Ghostbusters experience, which really does help with a sense of realism and place.
And the whole thing builds up to a surprising climax. I won't spoil it, but I will say that the ending is a well-done piece of fan service that will both terrify and delight Star Wars devotees, and makes the whole thing remarkably memorable.
So should I try it?
Yes, yes, yes. Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire is ridiculously fun. I actually had such a good time that I went back a second time the same day, just so I could show some friends. The location at Disney Springs (where I tried it) is actually a bit hidden, but it may be the most fun you can have in the gigantic shopping and entertainment complex. Quite simply, this feels like the future, and is the sort of experience that you'll be racing to tell your friends about.
