‘Star Wars’ VR game gets us closer to theme park ‘metaverse’ – Los Angeles Times

After a fulfilling and action-focused ending to the second season of The Mandalorain, fans of the Star Wars brand are no doubt hungry for other experiences within the space opera universe. Few offer as thrilling a pitch as Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxys Edge.

The game stands as a showcase for the latest in virtual reality, one that has us engaging in blaster fire with pirates, seeing familiar faces and peering deeper into the mystery of the franchises Force-like powers. So yes, there are films to rewatch, games to play and plenty of books and comics to discover, but only one can drop us into a virtual Star Wars landscape to engage in game-inspired immersive theater, albeit of the digital sort.

But there might be some fine print.

One needs access to an Oculus virtual reality headset (the Oculus Quest 2 was just released) And unlike previous Star Wars VR experiences from Lucasfilms experimental ILMxLab, Tales From the Galaxys Edge does little hand-holding. Expect in short order to juggle blasters, droid-fixing tools and then droids.

But if you take the time to acclimate yourself to the Star Wars universe, you will be enveloped in a world thats equal parts danger and wonder (I died quite a bit).

I find Tales From the Galaxys Edge compelling, not just because its an extension of Star Wars storytelling. Though not its publicly stated goal, the game to me is a welcome expansion of Disneys theme park worlds, namely its 14-acre Galaxys Edge lands that opened at Disneyland and Floridas Walt Disney World in 2019.

Tales From the Galaxys Edge lays the groundwork for a future where physical, public spaces are more overtly connected with our own virtual ones, a long-standing concept that has been moving at an accelerated pace during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Obviously, were playing a lot with virtual reality right now, mixed reality and location-based experiences. I think its all going to merge, says Jose Perez III, director of Tales From the Galaxys Edge.

While stressing that hes not talking about a potential Star Wars project, Perez imagines a future where a persona we craft for playing in a virtual space a game and a physical space a theme park becomes one and the same.

Youre going to start to find that youre going to have an avatar that means something in the virtual world that might mean something in the physical world, he says. The way that extends when I imagine something like going to the parks in the future having, when theyre ready, augmented reality glasses and seeing ships fly around and seeing porgs. Maybe well catch some of them and bring them home.

That isnt going to be an immediate post-pandemic reality, but such a world is closer than we may think. Theme parks were already heading in this direction before COVID-19. In the case of Star Wars alone, Disney is close to completing in Florida the Galactic Starcruiser, a two-night experience that will transform a hotel stay into a full, 24-7 Star Wars live action game.

The Millennium Falcon sits at the heart of the in-real-life Galaxys Edge at Disneyland.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Disneys chief technology officer, Tilak Mandadi, spoke of such a future recently at a themed entertainment conference, where he talked up the idea of a theme park metaverse. While the word metaverse can lend itself to vague technological predictions, Mandadi envisions a future where physical and digital worlds converge, as he described in an article on LinkedIn.

Applications could vary, of course. Some may focus on the ability of guests to continue engaging with the parks via the devices in their homes (an app on a smartphone, for instance). Others will look to accessible, familiar technology such as easier-to-use augmented reality glasses to forge a deeper connection with whats in the parks. We increasingly seem to be heading toward an overlap.

Mandadi didnt give too much away in a recorded presentation as part of this years virtual expo from the International Assn. of Amusement Parks and Attractions. He did, however, tease a potential use of what appeared to be an augmented reality headset at Walt Disney Worlds Animal Kingdom park, an experience Mandadi said is being tested. It would provide closer looks at the parks wildlife, as well as the potential to offer additional insights into what the park has to offer via digital overlays. Its also easy to imagine such animal-focused educational efforts having an appeal to those who have visited the park.

More overtly playful was a preview teased by game design legend Shigeru Miyamoto of the Super Nintendo World land that is coming to Universal Studios Japan in early 2021 (a version is also coming to Universal Hollywood, but no timetable has been given). From what Universal and Nintendo have shown, Super Nintendo World wants to feel like a walk-in arcade re-imagined as an all-encompassing Super Mario Bros. environment, where interactions and games are embedded into all aspects of the design, from the attractions to walkways to a restaurant.

The way we play in Super Nintendo World will be via smartphone and a wristband that Universal will sell. Miyamoto noted that those bands will work in a similar fashion as Nintendos plastic Amiibo toys-to-life figurines, which are connected wirelessly to consoles, implying that some game-like activities will extend from the theme park to our Nintendo devices. One can even consider Nintendos Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit a theme park accessory, as it brought an augmented-reality version of the popular racing game to our homes before the Mario Kart"-themed ride in Super Nintendo World opened.

Even Meow Wolf, the Santa Fe, N.M.-born art collective whose communal, exploratory spaces take influence from the theme park world, has spoken of a near-future where an app will turn its physical exhibition spaces, as well as our homes, into a giant alternate reality story that continually feeds the Meow Wolf universe. A company rep spoke earlier this year of a post-pandemic future where its app could connect pop-up art exhibits, spontaneous underground parties, fashion shows and secret dinners, among other one-offs, to the tales embedded in the companys physical locations.

These are different from the souvenirs of yore, but it is an evolution of them, as well as a more sophisticated understanding of why we feel connected to physical spaces. Theme parks, like any vacation from daily life, offer the ability to explore an experience such as Tales From the Galaxys Edge plays into that.

C-3PO is among the familiar characters well see in Tales From the Galaxys Edge.

(ILMxLab / Disney / Oculus)

Although a trip to Galaxys Edge isnt required for enjoying the VR work, the experience will certainly be enhanced by it. I know the folks at ILMxLab will likely disagree when I say this, but Im not sure that Tales From the Galaxys Edge can be fully appreciated unless youve been to Galaxys Edge. For me, it was part game, part memento and part extension of a lived experience.

When inside Galaxys Edge at Disneyland, we look up at the petrified trees that make up the lands spires and wonder whats beyond them or above them sure, Toontown, Tom Sawyer Island, offices or a parking garage, if you want to play the role of a skeptic. The design of Disneylands Galaxys Edge, however, should weaken that cynic view, as its a full-scale platform designed to feel like a lived-in place.

Thus, the parts of Tales From the Galaxys Edge that worked best for me were those that allowed me to see beyond what we see in the park, whether its a look into the past of the planet or the forests that the park can only hint at. These were the moments that drove home the idea that Disneylands Galaxys Edge is home to a number of stories yet to unfold. Standing atop a cliff and looking down at Black Spire Outpost made me feel that the place I had visited was real in the same way, say, that Seattle is real.

Think of how we experience a kick of recognition when we play a game or see a movie set in a locale weve visited. Our brains know the difference between Chicago and the Chicago of The Dark Knight, but theres a more complex psychological equation at work when were playing in a pure fantasy space. Inside the Oculus Quest 2, I felt akin to a tourist, only I was seeing a part of Galaxys Edge previously off-limits. Everything was new to me. All I wanted was to wander around and linger. It was certainly the best Disney theme park experience Ive had in the last nine months of 2020.

Unknown still is what a post-vaccine world will look like. But I like to think that this year, weve gained a deeper appreciation for the places we miss and a broader understanding that the ability to connect with them at home is powerful. Its also important to note that all the projects referenced here, including Tales From the Galaxys Edge, were in development long before the pandemic arrived.

These fantasy worlds are not a replacement for the real one. But pre-pandemic, mid-pandemic or post-pandemic, the entertainment that asks us to rethink the places weve been to and how we play when we visit them serves as a reminder to look for the extraordinary in the everyday.

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'Star Wars' VR game gets us closer to theme park 'metaverse' - Los Angeles Times