Virtual Reality in under 600 words.

what exactly is virtual reality, how does it work and will I like it? It’s way less scary than you might imagine and is not just for tech geeks in their basements. If you can use a smartphone you can use virtual reality.
A woman in virtual reality stares at a wall of text explaining "what is virtual reality?"
It’s not this complicated, trust me.

What is Virtual Reality and will I like Virtual Reality?

Sneaky Dog Escapes offer virtual reality escape room adventures. But what exactly is virtual reality, how does it work and will I like it? It’s way less scary than you might imagine and is not just for tech geeks in their basements. If you can use a smartphone you can use virtual reality. “I am no good at computers” you cry having navigated your personal computer to this webpage to read these words flawlessly. Your phone is a computer and you are probably great at using it. Phones are intuitive and so is virtual reality. If you can use your smartphone, then using our VR headsets will be a walk in the park (literally if that’s the virtual environment you want to choose).

A cartoon man enjoying virtual reality with little effort, he is relaxed and happy.

How does Virtual Reality work?

Virtual reality describes technology that provides ultra-immersive virtual experiences. It’s a clever technology that’s designed to be simple for you, the user. You wear a headset that contains tiny high-resolution screens inside them that are focused in a way that makes the virtual images fed to the headset become your reality. Using gyros and sensors the headset knows to move the images as you move your head, perfectly in sync in a way that allows you to look around a virtual space. Nowadays it has loads of uses. As well as escape rooms and gaming, it’s used for technical jobs like 3d design.

How do I move in VR?

“Will I walk into a wall?” is one of our most common questions. Possibly! But you don’t have to! The VR suite is set out into individual booths so no one can bump into you. We have a playspace boundary set up for your play. Think of this as your safety net. If you move too near a real wall, the headset will warn you. Because our escape room sets are huge (entire spaceships, pyramids, even an apartment block), there is a simple teleporting system so you can travel bigger distances without wearing out your trainers (or bashing yourself on a wall).

A virtual grid space overlays a living room. Inside is teenager playing Virtual Reality. This image explains how boundries are set to prevent contact with walls in Virtual reality.

Maybe the cleverest part is the motion sensors in the hand controllers that allows your virtual arm to move like your arm. This lets you manipulate the puzzles, open boxes, unscrew things and even practise your best dance moves! We’ve seen many a ‘YMCA’ and ‘Staying alive’ move in VR!

Will VR give me motion sickness?

Motion sickness was a trending word concerning virtual reality for a long time but it’s no longer applicable. VR motion sickness DID occur in old headsets with low-resolution screens and latency between you and the motion of the headset causing a dissonance similar to seasickness. Essentially, the images on the screen did not move in sync with your body, which freaks your brain out. We have specifically chosen our computer hardware and headsets, to almost eliminate this issue. Plus we have our secret weapon – Alex, who gets car sick with one dodgy bend, tests all our games for motion sickness and there have been a few that haven’t made the grade.

Where to try Virtual Reality?

At Sneaky Dog Escapes, we want you to love virtual reality as much as we do. Sneaky Dog Escapes wants you to be wowed and we want to take away any of your nerves. Group size is limited to 4 for the best experience. You will only ever play with your group and one of our specially trained gamemasters will be with you to answer any questions and help you have a great time. We believe we are the best place to try and enjoy virtual reality. If you have more questions please read our FAQ or contact us!

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Our Latest Review!

Absolutely fabulous experience! The attention to detail was second to none and the puzzles were well considered and varied. Enough room for a group of six to work comfortably and more rooms to explore than any previous escape rooms completed.

The host was brilliant and gave enough subtle hints to keep us moving without giving away too much. Definitely the best in Southampton and possibly the south of England. When you have a 90 minute limit it makes such a pleasant change to actually need the whole time. Was absolutely worth every penny!