The Tribeca Virtual Reality Arcade at the Oculus transit hub will be open, free to the public Friday through Sunday afternoons for the next two weekends.
BY BILL EGBERT
In “Invasion” from Baobab Studios, the viewer and this adorable bunny confront a couple menacing alien visitors on a frozen mountain lake.
Downtowners curious to try out Oculus Rift’s virtual-reality technology have a chance to sample it at the Oculus transit hub for the next two weekends.
The free Tribeca Virtual Reality Arcade set up by Westfield in the main hall of the iconic train station uses Samsung Gear VR, which is powered by the Facebook-owned company’s virtual-reality software, offering 360-degree views of four different short films specially made to showcase the technology.
From noon to 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday, this weekend and next, visitors can strap on the special headgear and watch immersive productions from Cirque du Soleil, the director of “The Bourne Identity,” the animators behind “Madagascar,” and others.
The animated short “Invasion,” by Baobab Studios, puts the viewer at the center of a icy mountain pond — in the company of an adorable bunny — when aliens wielding powerful weapons land nearby. Lovable hilarity ensues.
“KIDS,” a single-take peek into the lives of two teenagers living across the street from each other, slowly shifts from one of their rooms to the other through their windows, while the viewer can gaze back and forth — and even down, at a party unfolding on the street below.
Doug Liman, the director of “The Bourne Identity” and “Edge of Tomorrow” presents episode one of “Invisible,” a supernatural drama series shot entirely in a 360-degree view, which may risk giving viewers whiplash as they try to keep an eye on all the action unfolding around them.
But the longest and most intense experience on offer is ”KÀ: The Battle Within” by Cirque du Soleil, a head-spinning martial arts battle that makes full use of the immersive, 3-D medium. Flashing blades and flaming arrows get uncomfortably close to the viewer’s face as the highly stylized fight choreography offers dazzling action at every angle. When the platform the fighters are on begins to tilt steeply near the end of the production, you may find yourself leaning in your swivel chair to avoid sliding off.
By far the most intense of the virtual-reality offerings, ”KÀ: The Battle Within” by Cirque du Soleil features a dramatic, 360-degree martial-arts battle that makes the most of the #D view. Spoiler alert: that flaming arrow gets VERY close to your face.
Staffers will help visitors learn to use the Oculus Rift gear at the Tribeca Virtual Reality Arcade.
