Team event at the VR Center

Every year; an idea has to be found for the team event. It should be entertaining and team-building. With eight people, there's a lot on offer, but I thought it was about time that our Responsive agencywhich also specialises in high-end virtual reality, offers a glimpse of the VR Center Dietlikon receives. Because in my opinion, it's still the most ingenious arcade in this style and the full-body tracking is also exciting to see. And so our team set off on a little - we joked - industrial espionage.

When we arrived at the centre, a small aperitif with salty and sweet snacks as well as beer and soft drinks was already waiting for us. Since our group had first jumped on the Töggeli box in the vestibule, it took a while until the first team came together for the shooter.

Flawless process with comfortable breathers

The start was a bit bumpy, but then we got going all the faster and more motivated. After the short instruction on the equipment and the goal of the new shooter game (which you will learn about next week), we all put on trackers and the VR headset with the backpack PC. In a small polonaise, the team of two Fabian and Philip led us into the mysterious, unknown room behind the curtain, at least for my fellow players. The technology worked perfectly and so, after 20 minutes of playing, we were completely refreshed by this shooter.

Getting to know team members from another side

The next team of three was already waiting expectantly. After handing over the equipment, we went upstairs and helped ourselves to the small buffet. There we philosophised a bit with Philip about virtual reality, and he willingly told us again how the whole thing came about through their horror games. We were also very amused by the sounds coming from downstairs. We have never heard our boss speak so loudly. He commanded his troops through the shooter with such determination. So you get to know another side of team members.

In the second round, the Explorer was tested. When I asked if I could watch, the answer was, "All right, because it's you." What an honour! It was quite amusing to see the three figures wandering around the dark room with lots of "Ahs" and "Ohs", sometimes a "Hä?" or "Aha" and all kinds of funny comments, totally absorbed in the game. But I didn't just see the three of them in the real world, I also had a glimpse of the virtual one via the screen. Of course, that made watching them even more exciting.

Literally cheering you on as you overcome your fear of heights

A team member we all like, but who always has a big mouth, had difficult cards from the start. Everyone was looking forward to seeing him, with his extreme fear of heights, running or perhaps crawling over the abyss on the board already known from teaser videos. Stupid comments were therefore already pre-programmed, such as: "Hey, your avatar is shaking, what's wrong?" or "I'll light a fire under your butt with the torch, then you'll be fine." But after the stupid comments came the shouts of motivation and praise - even though he actually skated next to the board.

Fair play also became an issue when one team was split in front of a closed wall. At first, they all thought they could just walk through it. But then one of them thought they had to solve the puzzle correctly.

Philip and Fabian said at the end that they would always notice, even without knowing in advance, if their visitors were also working with VR. The players would focus on completely different things than others. It was probably no different with our troupe. But you could clearly hear that the whole team enjoyed the immersion, the full-body tracking and the gameplay: "Tammi, I know exactly, I could walk straight in real life, but my brain forces me not to miss."

I don't think the evening could have been much more team-building and entertaining, with fajitas afterwards in a nearby restaurant. Of course, the discussions about VR continued animatedly throughout the evening.