BRIEF
INITION were commissioned to create a thrilling multi sensory Virtual Reality experience for The View from the Shard, the open-air Skydeck in London’s iconic building “The Shard”.
SOLUTION
INITION created a virtual challenge whereby visitors can test their fear of heights by walking across The Shard’s early infrastructure, balancing on scaffolding and the stripped back construction of Europe’s tallest building, taking on the ‘Vertigo’ challenge.
The experience begins with the user standing on the virtual skydeck, up on The Shard’s 72nd floor. As the user physically steps forward, the floor and glass walls fall away revealing a great 360° panorama of London beneath their feet. Suspended at 244 metres in air and balancing on a narrow steel girder, visitors are encouraged to complete daring tasks as instructed by the site’s foreman.
The fully interactive experience uses HTC Vive and Vive trackers to allow users to navigate around the open-air construction. High-resolution 360 stereoscopic imagery, an ultra-realistic modelling of the building itself, animated models of different parts, DMX-controlled wind machines and 360 positional sounds all contribute to create a multisensory, multidimensional experience.
RESULTS
“As the tallest attraction in Europe, we are always looking for new ways to offer exciting and innovative experiences for our visitors. The consumer technology space has been an area we’ve been keen to explore for a while and we are excited to be working with the design companies behind the VR to introduce these new immersive adventures to the attraction’s visitors.” Patrick Allen, CEO of The View from The Shard