How does a virtual reality tour of the Faroe Islands measure up to the real thing – Telegraph.co.uk

Conversations have changed since lockdown. Have you noticed? Classic, tried and tested small-talk questions like what did you get up to this weekend? or any plans for tonight? are now dead ducks.

Because the answer is inevitably something like ah, I just cracked on with that puzzle or I went outside for exercise, briefly or at the most interesting imaginable end of the spectrum: Ive got a virtual pub quiz to attend tonight.

However, when my girlfriend returned home from work yesterday and asked what I did, for the first time in weeks I had an answer that didnt numb her mind with tedium: I told her that I had visited the Faroe Islands.

How did I achieve such wizardry, when the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel? And more importantly, how did I achieve such wizardry when she only saw me 12 hours ago, before heading off for her days work at the hospital?

Through the means of the Faroe Islands brand new remote tourism platform, thats how.

Its the stuff of Charlie Brookers imagination. Through this you can control a living, breathing human being, who has a camera strapped to their head, and direct them with an on-screen Super Nintendo-style controller (with directional buttons, plus jump and run) the first tourism experience of its kind, so they say.

Yesterday, along with a selection of journalists, I got a sneak peek. So how was it?

As the clock struck 1pm, I was transported to a rather grey and windy looking Faroe Islands. The camera looked out at a silvery sea, with those iconic Faroese stack-like islands in the distance, and a chap named Levi from the Faroe Islands our eyes, who incidentally used to play for the Faroes national football team was in the middle of saying something.

You get to control me entirely, he said. Obviously not entirely, he quickly added, Im not going to jump off a bridge. But Ill go where you ask. Within reason.

And so we were off, we being a group of unknown size you cant see who else is taking part. Which means, of course, you also cant see whos in control of our guide. Indeed the first person in control of our avatar, it seems, was less interested in the quaint Bur village, which was close by, and declined the chance to approach the sea for a better look at the view, but rather wanted to make the chap rotate in circles. Which he dutifully did.

You really like going left, he said, as he kept turning in circles. But then their minute was up, and soon someone with a more enquiring mind was in control. We were heading towards the village. I was beginning to wonder which type of "controller" I would be, when it was my time.

This isnt the first time the Faroes has launched a groundbreaking tourism initiative. Last year, the archipelago closed for maintenance in a bid to preserve its fragile ecosystem and protect itself from the effects of overtourism. The initiative was such a success it was set to happen again over a weekend in 2020 but now, of course, the islands are being given plenty of breathing space without the need for enforced closure.

Then, some excitement. In the village, as we continued to make this poor man rotate, jump and run about in a very non-linear path, a postal van appeared. A real life postal van!

Imagine if we had organised it so he had some post to deliver me, he chuckled. We can but fantasise about such hijinx, for now. The postman carried on with his business, and so did we. Jump, run, turn. Jump, run, turn.

There were morsels of interesting information as we explored. The grass roofs on these houses, iconic to the archipelago, are not mown by hand, but rather by sheep, he explained. We moved on and for some time we lingered next to Burs black and white church, built in 1865 and archetypical of the islands quaint architecture.

Guri Hjgaard, director of Visit Faroe Islands, says that the nation is proud to welcome virtual tourists to its remote North Atlantic location.

When the travel bans began to escalate, we wondered how we could recreate a Faroe Islands experience for those who had to cancel or postpone their trip to the Faroe Islands, and for everyone else stuck at home. The result is this new platform to enable those in isolation to take a walk across our wild landscapes, to regain a sense of freedom and to explore beyond their own four walls, she said.

We believe that our remote islands are the perfect place to inspire people in lockdown and, naturally, we hope to welcome them in person once everyone is free to travel again.

In truth, I was most impressed not so much by the scenery, hard to capture on a small screen, but rather by the unflappable patience of our guide. He really did do everything he was told. Which I think explains why, when an alert came on my screen 3 2 1 Youre in control! something happened. I was compelled to make him run, and jump, a lot.

OK, Ill get running, he said as he jogged along and I kept tapping the button. ... uh, and jumping, he added, now stopping to jump. Yes! Run! Jump!

Its so strange to think I am being controlled by someone on their sofa, or even on the toilet, he said, starting to sound a little bit breathless.

We were running down a single-track road and approached a tractor, which he said he probably shouldnt disturb, so I instructed him to rotate 90 degrees to the right and there, in front of us and up a grassy bank, was a sheep, looking quite confused at the sight of a fully grown man running and jumping about. Im not quite sure what came over me, but I did it. My own Milgram Experiment. I clicked run. Then started tapping it, faster, just to see what would happen.

Silence.

Hmm... I dont think I should run towards that sheep, he said, utterly reasonably. But I can keep jumping, yes, he added, responding to my revised instructions. The sheep trotted off, and somebody else took control and moved us back towards the village. What a rush. He passed the moral test. The timer rebooted and informed me I would be in control again in eight minutes. I bet he couldn't wait.

Having never been to the Faroe Isles, at least not since I was three years old on a drive to Iceland with my family, I wasn't sure of just how short the VR version falls of the real thing. My colleague, Hugh Morris, who visited the Faroes last year, popped into the virtual tour to give his assessment.

The Faroe Islands does not do conventional scenery; its peaks, cliffs and lakes often appear around corners without warning and are difficult to make sense of, so virtual appreciation of the place is always going to fall short of the true experience.

But then, I suppose, it is not meant to be a replacement for a visit, only whet the appetite of those unable to do so in these times. Once there, you'll be able to taste the Atlantic on the wind, breathe in what may be some of the cleanest air in Europe and scale heights that provide baffling views across an archipelago seemingly cut adrift in the middle of the ocean.

And whetted, my appetite most certainly is. In these times of lockdown, we have seen creative solutions to problems across all industries, and I salute the Faroe Islands tourist board for this initiative by far the best VR experience Ive tried to date (I've tried a few). Its fun, playful, informative, and my walking tour was just the tip of the iceberg future excursions will include a hiking experience, a helicopter ride, a horseback experience and a boat ride.

I will be tuning in again, for sure. As much for the escapism, as for the thrill of making somebody thousands of miles away jump, run, spin, and make moral decisions regarding sheep.

The Remote Tourism platform, now live, launches today and will run twice daily, at 2pm and 5pm, initially for 10 days. The Visit Faroe Islands tourist board team will be online in real time on Instagram and Facebook Live to answer any questions that participants may have.

Read the original:

How does a virtual reality tour of the Faroe Islands measure up to the real thing - Telegraph.co.uk