Most people have a dream VR setup. It might be laid out for the ultimate racing experience, or designed for immersive flight simulation. Studio Muybridge, however, built the ultimate VR paragliding experience.
The France-based studio recently shared this look at its elaborate contraption. The rig suspends players on a seat in mid-air where they put an HTC Vive on. In the virtual world, they’ll find themselves soaring above a canyon. But the best part is the control. Players are able to dictate their direction by pulling and pushing the two Vive controllers. They’re attached to their own pulleys to simulate moving the glider above you.
Inside VR you’ll use this system to swoop over rivers, steer through caves and compete in races.
“The player doesn’t have any contact with the floor, therefore we needed to create a great feeling using electronic cylinders and wind turbines to prevent motion-sickness,” Studio Muybridge’s Matthieu Carron told me over email. “We worked with professional paragliders to create realistic flying sensations. We also gave the player the ability to accelerate which enhances the flying experience by providing more control and power.”
Everything you see was made in-house. Carron says the most difficult part was balancing comfort and realism. Indeed, some of the turns in the trailer are enough to make our stomachs churn. But we’d be eager to see how it works for ourselves.
Studio Muybridge is selling and renting the solution out for location-based experiences. You can contact them at this address: contact@studiomuybridge. The team will also be at the Lava Virtual event at the end of next month.
