A number of Oculus Rift experiences have popped up at this week’s annual Comic Con event in San Diego. At least one, a promotional demo for Warner Bros. new film Into the Storm, is confirmed to use the just-released Oculus Rift DK2 VR headset for a promotional mixed reality experience.
Marketers have caught on quickly, realizing that short promotional virtual reality demos are a great way to immerse users in branded experiences. It takes time to create polished full length games, and developers need more than just a few months to get it right. However, in this transitional phase of mainstream VR adoption, it’s easy enough to whip together a VR ‘experience’ where the user is immersed, for just a few minutes, but not necessarily interacting.
See Also: Oakley and RS Components Among the Latest Brands Using the Oculus Rift for Marketing
Among a number of such experiences at Comic Con this week, at least one is confirmed to be using the just-released Oculus Rift DK2. Warner Bros. has whipped up an experience to promote the forthcoming film Into the Storm, which releases on August 8th.
According to a video we dug up of the demo, the experience lasts about a minute and a half and puts the user inside of a tunnel where people are trying to escape a powerful tornado. A powerful air compressor blasts wind at the users for a mixed-reality experience that corroborates the virtual wind seen within the demo.
At 0:36 in the video, both players wince at something presumably flying at them in the demo with a completely convincing reaction. It’s virtual reality’s ability to immersive to such levels, that instinctive reactions still happen, that makes the technology so compelling.
