The Void (virtual reality)


The Void is a franchise of mixed reality entertainment attractions. Co-founded by businessman Ken Bretschneider as a re-focusing of a plan to build an attraction in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and described by some as being a virtual reality "theme park", these facilities feature virtual reality experiences leveraging a combination of head-mounted displays with motion tracking, haptic feedback and special effects systems to allow patrons to freely explore and interact with virtual settings within the confines of specially-designed environments.
The Void's first location was established in Pleasant Grove. In July 2016, The Void debuted a Ghostbusters-themed virtual reality attraction at Madame Tussaud's in New York City. The company subsequently began a partnership with the Disney Accelerator program, and has co-developed attractions based on Disney properties, such as Star Wars, Wreck-It Ralph, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

History

The Void was co-founded by CEO Ken Bretschneider, Curtis Hickman, a visual effects artist and former stage magician, and James M. Jensen, an entrepreneur and interactive media designer. Bretschneider and Hickman had been developing a fantasy-themed theme park in Pleasant Grove, Utah known as Evermore Park. One of its planned attractions was a mixed reality experience that would combine virtual reality technology with a physical environment.
However, due to a lack of funding and its estimated cost of nearly $400 million, Bretschneider announced in August 2015 that the Evermore project would be placed on hold, and that his team would focus on developing its hyper reality concept into a "virtual entertainment center" known as The VOID. Mayor of Pleasant Grove Mike Daniels explained that "the size and scope of outgrew both the size of the land they had purchased and the amount of capital they needed to raise in addition to the millions of dollars Ken put up for the project." A smaller version of Evermore Park did eventually open in September 2018.
In May 2016, The Void announced that it had partnered with Sony Pictures to co-develop a Ghostbusters-themed attraction, Ghostbusters: Dimension, which opened at Madame Tussauds in Times Square, New York City on July 1, 2016 as a tie-in to the new Ghostbusters film.
In July 2017, it was announced that The Void would be joining the Disney Accelerator program. Shortly after, The Void and Disney announced a new Star Wars attraction, Secrets of the Empire, for launch later in the year as a tie-in for the upcoming spin-off film Rogue One. It was being produced in a collaboration with ILMxLAB—an offshoot of Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic devoted to immersive entertainment.
With the same partners, The Void announced in 2018 that it would develop five more projects with Disney, including an attraction based on Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Avengers: Damage Control, based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This attraction, originally slated for a limited release, has now been extended thru to the end of 2019.
In mid-March, 2020, The Void's installation at Disneyland Resort in Florida was one of many indoor attractions forced to shut down as a result of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. On June 30th, 2020, notices of Event Default and Lease Termination from the Walt Disney World Operating Participants Department were posted on the entrance to The Void's facility at the park. The notices cite a breach of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures license.

Technology

The Void's mixed reality experiences utilize aspects of virtual reality, haptic feedback, and other physical effects; users wear a helmet with a head-mounted display, noise cancelling headphones and a hand tracking sensor, and a haptic suit containing 22 vibrators and a computer to power the headset. The system is designed to allow its users to freely walk through and explore a virtual world; in reality, the user is confined to a "stage" equipped with ceiling-mounted motion tracking cameras to read the user's movements. To provide physical feedback, the "stage" contains foam walls, special effects equipment such as fans, mist machines, and heat lamps, as well as props representing items such as guns and torches; all of these physical elements correspond with elements within the virtual world seen through the headset, increasing the illusion of immersion.
Hickman explained that The Void would leverage his prior knowledge of magic by using "illusion design, misdirection and magic theory to create the illusion of reality, as opposed to just trying to rely only on the technology to do it." Among the illusion-based techniques used are redirected walking, which is used to give the illusion that the user is traversing a larger path in a straight line, but is actually walking through a curved hall. Redirected walking, in combination with the ability to have the same physical hallways and walls represent different locations in the virtual space, provides the illusion that the user is traversing a location larger than the stage itself.
The original prototype of the system, which simulated the interior of a spaceship, utilized an Oculus Rift Development Kit 1, a 10-foot long wall, and electromagnetic sensors for position tracking. Early iterations of The Void's vest system utilized an Oculus Rift Development Kit 2, Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, and a Leap Motion unit for hand tracking. To overcome their limitations and improve the experience, the company intended to eventually replace these off-the-shelf parts with custom-designed equipment.
One of these new components was a custom-designed headset codenamed "Rapture", which features curved, per-eye 2K resolution OLED displays with a claimed 180-degree field of vision, a custom optics system, Bang and Olufsen headphones, and microphones for communication between players. The company stated that Rapture was intended to provide a higher-quality virtual reality experience in comparison to the consumer-grade hardware previously used. Bretschneider personally invested $250,000 into the Rapture project. The Void's developers also planned to replace the optical tracking system with a radio-based system. The current system utilizes markers on the helmet and props that are similar to those used in a motion capture rig, which requires that the motion tracking cameras have an unobstructed view of the stage and restricts the height of the walls.
Multiple themed experiences can be designed for use on the same stage layout; experiences used at The Void's test location included one where players explore an ancient temple, and a first-person shooter-styled mission known as "Research Facility". Outside organizations showed interest in having education-oriented experiences developed for The Void, including police training and nature exploration. VR experiences are being developed by The Void and by other partners, such as the University of Utah and video game studios.

Locations

Bretschneider, Hickman and Jensen foresaw The Void as being a larger chain of virtual reality entertainment centers, consisting of a flagship location in Pleasant Grove, Utah, which the company planned to open some time in 2016, as well as smaller locations in other markets. Each would feature one or more 60 by stages capable of handling groups of six to eight players each; the Pleasant Grove location was to feature eight of these stages. A proof of concept location with a stage was constructed in Lindon, Utah next to the company's offices.
Ghostbusters: Dimension also opened at Cineplex Entertainment's The Rec Room at Roundhouse Park in Toronto in June 2017.
Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire launched December 16, 2017 at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort, and on January 5, 2018 at Downtown Disney at Disneyland Resort. In addition, The Void opened a pop-up location at Westfield London for a 12-week run, after which it moved to sister location Westfield Stratford City for a 12-week run there.
In July 2018, Cineplex Entertainment announced that it had signed an exclusive agreement with The Void for Canadian franchises, and would open at least five more locations including The Rec Room locations at West Edmonton Mall and Square One Shopping Centre.
By late-2018, The Void had opened attractions in London, Dubai, Toronto, Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Orlando, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and the Californian cities of Anaheim, Glendale, Santa Monica, and Hollywood.
In early 2019, The VOID opened at Square One Shopping Centre within The Rec Room, one of the most prominent and diverse locations in North America.
In July 2019, The Void announced plans to open at least 25 new locations in Europe and the United States by 2022 via Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield properties.

Void Experiences