Anvio VR is a new, motion capture tracked VR experience that throws you and a bunch of friends into a warehouse-scale VR arena to battle, well, pretty much everything. It looks great!
In many ways, the out-of-home VR industry has done a much better job of fulfilling the early potential and expectations of what virtual reality as a technology can offer, than home systems. With no restrictions on hardware customisation and the freedom to eschew out-of-the box tracking technologies for current generation VR headsets, startups like The Void and VRCade have shown what pure virtual reality attractions can offer right now.
Anvio VR is a new, motion captured virtual reality platform developed by Vortex LLC in Moscow. It uses “top of the line” professional motion capture systems, retro-fitted to off-the-shelf VR hardware (in this case the Oculus Rift), driven by backtop PCs in a 2,150 square feet physical space. Players are equipped too with sturdy looking, motion captured assault rifles and, as every other player’s position is accurately tracked inside the space, they can move around with confidence they’re not going to butt heads at any moment (unless of course you choose to).
A press release from the company says:
Anvio VR is designed to provide complete freedom of movement for the player.
In our virtual worlds you can run, jump, wave and much more, all together with your friends. Our large play area and fully wireless system mean you don’t have to worry about cords or running out of space, creating an incredible level of immersion.
A single arena is able to host different game content which can be switched on the fly.
Anvio VR opened its doors to paying customers a couple of months ago at their first venue in Moscow and the company claim to have already served some 2000 customers since then. They’re also keen to expend beyond Russian borders, with the website hinting at the prospect of a venue in London.
While Anvio VR isn’t technically something new (we already mentioned two of Anvio’s competitors), but I have to confess their no nonsense approach to the gameplay on display in the videos throughout this article and the sheer fun people were having was a little infectious.