GTL: Star Wars Provokes Evolution of Fan Experience
By Twin Galaxies Editorial Staff ·
Disney and Star Wars team up with NVIDIA and Fortnite developer Epic Games to create the next generation of interactive theme park experiences. With companies like The VOID creating their own immersive encounters, Star Wars fans are living at the cutting edge of fandom - but will the hype last?
Disney is at the forefront of creating virtual reality based attractions at their theme parks with the Star Wars franchise as the main star. From Star Wars: Galaxies Edge to The Void, the long standing science-fiction franchise is now leading the way for truly immersive live-action experiences that have Star Wars fans living with the ability to experience the latest in entertainment technology on this episode of Game Talk Live. Host Mandie Roman is joined by an expert panel of guests to discuss these topics, including Filmthreat.com Editor Chris Gore, Gary Scullion of Sneaky Zebra, and Founder and CCo of The Void Curtis Hickman.
Star Wars: Galaxies Edge has quickly become on of the most popular attractions at Disney Parks, due to it giving fans the ability to experience an extremely interactive and immersive experience in the canon Star Wars Universe that they have the ability to manipulate. Each panelist gives their thoughts on why fans of Star Wars and other major entertainment franchises love to have the chance to become apart of their respective universes.
With the success of Star Wars: Galaxies Edge and fellow Star Wars virtual reality attraction The Void, the panel discusses how theme parks could possibly be heading towards a future where virtual reality rides could be the norm. While this gamification of theme parks allows visitors to experience imaginative worlds in live action, there is the possibility that the likes of microtransactions in the attraction that stem from the theme park environment could lead to users being pulled out of the immersion.
Discussion also covers the variety of experiences that the likes of Star Wars: Galaxies Edge and The Void can bring that normal attractions can not and the benefits of working directly with a game developer, such as Nvidia and Epic Games are with Star Wars: Galaxies Edge, in creating a virtual reality experience.
"I think this idea of being immersed and lots in new worlds…is amazing….People are asking for these kinds of experiences so there will be more." -@amazingcurtis of @voidvr, on interactive theme park experiences (Like #GalaxiesEdge)
— GameTalkLive (@GameTalkLive) May 4, 2018
Watch Live: https://t.co/wHSzONRMnM pic.twitter.com/HkB053pZgV
Each member of the Game Talk Live panel also give their thoughts and opinions on whether or not home-based virtual reality or venue based virtual reality attractions are the future of the platform. Venues allow for people to have more freedom in their experience, especially for one based on the vast and exciting world of Star Wars, compared to using a personal home setup where high cost and limited space can make for a less enjoyable experiece.
Topics also included discussion regarding new technology that is currently being developed to enhance the immersive nature of virtual reality experiences, the likelyhood of Star Wars being able to push augmented reality into the spotlight, as Pokemon Go had done for a short period of time, and the possibility of a full fledged virtual reality Star Wars game being developed and released in the near future.
#VR is a concept that people can intuitively understand...Accomplishing that task [as a VR creator] is enormously complicated." -@amazingcurtis of @voidvr #tech #futuretech #EmergingTech Watch Live: https://t.co/wHSzONRMnM pic.twitter.com/ufSXvmvxo9
— GameTalkLive (@GameTalkLive) May 4, 2018
Finally, the panel discusses why the Star Wars franchise is often the subject matter for emerging entertainment technology. With the franchise spanning across several generations, it has created a massive fanbase and is often a safe bet for being the main focus on a new entertainment product, as it will be guaranteed to draw in countless fans off of its name alone.
This episode of Game Talk Live has wrapped up for today, but you can catch it in its entirety in the video embedded above. Meanwhile, don't miss out on the previous episode of Game Talk Live in which expert panelists discuss the NFL's efforts to grab video game players' attention with a Twitch streaming partnership and how new game Gridiron Champions is looking to circumvent NCAA rules about amateur players.