![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
War of the Worlds immersive experience
Jan. 10th, 2023 11:14 amI'm not generally a fan of immersive experiences - but I was persuaded to give the War of the Worlds one a try. It didn't get off to a great start when I read the lengthy waiver and discovered I was not best suited to taking part - I was wearing impractical clothes and high heels, I'm afraid of the dark, of a nervous disposition and often adversely affected by smoke effects, strong smells and loud noises, plus I've always hated VR... I had also been hoping for a fortifying drink before venturing in - but that wasn't allowed.
But Dave had gone to a lot of effort to organise the trip. There were only five of us, but he'd secured the whole 12-person slot so we wouldn't have strangers with us. And we'd all dressed up in Victorian steampunk outfits to fit the theme (hence the corset, floor-length skirt and high heels...).
And mostly, it was a lot more enjoyable than I'd feared. There were a couple of unpleasant bits, but the VR was painterly enough that it didn't freak me out too badly (and the last section was actually amazing). I managed okay on the spiral stairs and the slide. And the actors were generally very good and welcoming of us trying to get into the spirit of things.
What made it all massively worthwhile is that we were one of the last sets of people through, so by the time we came out, several of the cast were already off duty and came up to us to say how much they'd enjoyed our costumes and play-acting. Since they have to run through the same short scenes over and over, every 15 minutes or so for their whole shift, it was gratifying to know that we'd added some novelty and interest to their work, and I was really glad we'd put in the effort.
But Dave had gone to a lot of effort to organise the trip. There were only five of us, but he'd secured the whole 12-person slot so we wouldn't have strangers with us. And we'd all dressed up in Victorian steampunk outfits to fit the theme (hence the corset, floor-length skirt and high heels...).
And mostly, it was a lot more enjoyable than I'd feared. There were a couple of unpleasant bits, but the VR was painterly enough that it didn't freak me out too badly (and the last section was actually amazing). I managed okay on the spiral stairs and the slide. And the actors were generally very good and welcoming of us trying to get into the spirit of things.
What made it all massively worthwhile is that we were one of the last sets of people through, so by the time we came out, several of the cast were already off duty and came up to us to say how much they'd enjoyed our costumes and play-acting. Since they have to run through the same short scenes over and over, every 15 minutes or so for their whole shift, it was gratifying to know that we'd added some novelty and interest to their work, and I was really glad we'd put in the effort.
