Through The Repository: A Horror VR experience this September at Universal Studios Hollywood

Since the 1700s, The Repository warehouse has been the storage hold for all types of bizarre relics. These relics are rumoured to contain the paranormal energy of horrific incidents that occurred close by, others say these objects are the cause of troubles.

At Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) at Universal Studios Hollywood, there’s a new add-on experience this year – The Repository. The creators have harnessed eight years of HHN feedback to develop this new horror experience that combines virtual reality technology and immersive theatre.

Teams of four players enter the warehouse, with each player being assigned a different role within the 30 minute game.

Players will need to interact with actors who are members of a secret society looking into paranormal activity and first meet the warehouse’s caretaker. A key needs to be found which will take the team through the Dark Portal and into a paranormal world which is viewable only when wearing virtual reality headsets. In this world, horrible creatures roam freely and fears will be tested as the team encounters small spaces and dizzying heights.

At this stage of the game, the team is split into two and can roam 18 x 18 foot stages which have undergone texture mapping – this means the game space players see on their headsets is smaller than the actual size of the room. There’s also a safety barrier to protect players and live scare actors who will interact with the team.

The technology that runs behind the scenes “[uses] wireless multiplayer technology from VRstudios’ VRcade division and Unity Technologies’ Unity 5 game engine.” – Source.

Throughout the experience the team will be briefed on their mission and are given props to help progress through the game eventually building up to the finale – “.. it’s a four-person, team-based puzzle that needs to be solved to stop the evil entities from taking over.” – Source.

Whatever happens to you on the journey .. is not reversible.

The Repository is available from September 29th to October 31st at Universal Studios Hollywood and costs $50 USD per person. A Halloween Horror Nights ticket is also required.

Website: Halloween Horror Nights

Behind-the-scenes information: DigitalTrends

 

The Hunt Begins: Hunt A Killer experience takes over 200 acres in Darlington, Maryland – USA

A 200 acre living crime scene to explore.

Hunt a Killer is a three hour immersive experience where teams of six people will help solve the mystery of the serial killer.

The Hunt A Killer experience is described as part adventure race – to the next location, part escape room – discover and solve crime scene clues and part interactive theatre with actors.

As the event is designed in an open world format – teams are able to choose how their adventure plays out. Go in any direction located within the event’s land boundaries and see what you can discover.

Search for crime scenes, find evidence and discuss wild theories with your teammates. Then complete physical/mental challenges to collect information about the killer before time runs out. Will your team choose the path to success or failure?

Teams attend a briefing before the Hunt a Killer experience starts at 3pm this Saturday. The FAQ says players may also need to crawl or swim(!) through other challenge sections and that not all teams will finish the experience by the 6pm deadline.

When night falls – the event turns into a party where players can talk about the day’s events over a camp bonfire. Afterwards, players can then pitch their camping tents for the night.

Tickets are $210 USD per single ticket (where a person is matched to a team) and $960 USD per team (each person $160 USD).

There’s a code on the website: KEMPER300 which gives teams a $300 discount at the moment. Since the event contains mature content, the Hunt a Killer website states only players 21 years or older are able to join.

Would you sign up for the Hunt A Killer experience?

Hunt A Killer – Website

The Hunt A Killer team are also planning something for 2017 – mysterious packages in the mail.

 

// Other Escape Room News
Today is the last voting day for the 10 Best Escape Rooms as nominated by USA Today. Experts nominated 20 of their favourite escape rooms in the USA and the Room Escape Artist team covered the story with a great post here.

The final results should be listed on the USA Today website – who will be crowned USA Today’s number one escape room?

Perhaps someone will take up the challenge to do an escape room tour to visit the top 10 US escape rooms after all the votes are tallied.

Essa 🙂

 

Demons and earthquakes! The Exorcist Escape Room Experience scurries into Escape Hotel Hollywood this weekend – Fright Month 2016

Welcome to Fright Month 2016. This year the spooky party starts earlier than normal due to unusual paranormal activity. Over the next month this blog writes about the most spooky and terrifying escape room events along with frightening theme park activities before Halloween arrives.

Real life exorcism. Ready to check in?

Escape Hotel Hollywood have partnered up with the Fox channel to promote their new tv series The Exorcist. Opening this week on Friday participants are invited to find out what a fate worse than death means.

The experience takes participants on a 45 minute journey as they move through six different rooms including a church, a priest’s office and an old attic. The final stage of the experience sees people participate in an exorcism.

Depending on how participants and actors interact with each other during the experience – it will affect how the story plays out and how sound effects are triggered. Technology built into the experience includes demon sound effects and earthquake simulators to shake the room/s.

The free tickets for The Exorcist Experience were for September 23^rd – 25^th at Escape Hotel Hollywood but they have since sold out.

Otherwise if you’re willing to pay there are still available tickets for September 29^th and 30^th at a cost of $60 USD per person. It’s also worth noting that The Hollywood Reporter mentioned in a recent article each experience takes up to twenty people in each session.

Would you check in to Escape Hotel Hollywood for this terrifying experience?

Escape Hotel Hollywood – Website

– Essa  🙂