Red Bull Media World in the test

I have already reported several times about the upcoming Red Bull Media World events. Now I wanted to know more and visited the Museum of Transport in Lucerne.

The first thing we found in the outdoor area of the exhibition were the Red Bull Air Race Gaming Seats, over which we reports and which are now only equipped with the mobile game and no longer with VR. What a pity; I thought at first, the iPad game was fun for a short time, but it would certainly have been more fun in VR.

After the short gaming experience, we logged in with our ticket at the entrance so that all activities would be saved on our account. In the Red Bull Media World, in addition to VR, you can shoot your own TV shows, make a film in the green room or take an all-round selfie in the room with umpteen cameras.

Since the weather was actually too nice for a visit to the museum, there were fortunately few visitors. When I tested the first VR application, however, I was a bit unlucky at first. I headed for the VR glasses hanging from the ceiling and was pleased to see that one was free. Unfortunately, it was exactly the one that was defective. After a short wait, another pair of glasses became available that worked, apart from the headphones, and I went to the ski slope first.

No sweat, no glory in VR

I experienced a wild descent from the athlete's point of view with the application. For my taste, the clip went on a bit long, especially since there were other waiting visitors and I wanted to watch some more. All around me, I kept hearing the astonished exclamations of the other visitors, who had probably not experienced a VR experience at all or hardly at all: Mega cool! I'm right in the middle of it. You have to try the helicopter application! Really cool!

After watching two more clips, I got too warm and started thinking about how many people had sweated into their glasses before me. But I then saw how quickly this thought disappears when I saw the cockpit of the two Formula E cars: Of course I wanted to try it out.

A strong stomach is needed in the cockpit

But first there was an elderly gentleman and an elderly lady who were probably visiting with their grandson. "If you feel sick, you just have to close your eyes for a moment," said one of the attendants. She was a bit nauseous, the woman said, but it seemed too much fun. She happily commented on what she was experiencing on the track and that it was already difficult to steer the vehicle.

Having been able to try out the experience myself for probably not even a minute, I was really surprised that they kept the game going until the end. I was already totally sick on the first lap. I admit that I wasn't the best at driving the Formula E car either. I slammed into the wall about three times in that short time and because I didn't keep the steering wheel still, my car was constantly swaying back and forth a bit. My partner mastered this a lot better, visibly on the big screen in the back. However, he also complained about a sinking feeling in his stomach after the game and we first had to sit outside in the fresh air.

The conclusion

In my opinion, such races in VR are precisely not the rage. Apart from the danger of motion sickness, you can't really enjoy the 360° all-round view in such applications. And that's exactly what VR is about for me. Maybe it's just a matter of taste, but I prefer games in which you move more slowly and have time to explore the world.

However, I would still recommend a visit to the Museum of Transport Lucerne and the Red Bull Media World, especially because of all the other exhibitions.