'What's Your Reality?'

Ready to get your geek on?

Sulphur Springs is about to go high-tech with a virtual space of gaming, tournaments, digital art exhibits and other activities for all ages and abilities.

Sitting behind Price’s Pawn Shop on Spring Street, the retro-inspired arcade is the culmination of the creative concepts and technical expertise of Scott Hanson, 50.

The idea is to provide somewhere for those interested in pursuing careers in technology to collaborate and learn from each other, as well as a fun outlet for playing single or multiplayer video games, going to watch parties for video game tournament events and providing unique experiences for the elderly and those with physical disabilities.

There’s seated VR, quasi-room scale and room scale, and available technology is advanced enough now to have warehouse scale live action role play. While Hanson said he doesn’t have the space for that level of play, VRSocial does have room scale experience.

VRSocial offers four spaces for up to two players in each per hour of gameplay. There is also a projection room, called the green room, that offers the most immersive experience available at the arcade.

Wireless capabilities allow the gamer to move around in the room without worrying about tangling cords. Because the room is fully lined with green screen, as with movies and television, a TV in the common area displays the activity of the gamer in the game environment through a camera mounted in the green room.

Hanson said he’s expecting a haptic vest, which will be available for use in the green room to enhance the gaming experience. The vest delivers vibrations and other feedback to the body to simulate certain experiences, such as loud noises, bumps and other tactile hits generated in the game.

“I’ve upgraded that system to a wireless and … it has what’s called index controllers,” he said.

Index controllers allow the gamer to control the environment using their fingers rather than a hand-held controller.

Whether using a hand-held or index controller, there are a lot of programs that range from visual experiences of visiting a museum in Paris or popular single and multiplayer shooter Pavlov.

“We have a couple of different programs here where you can create art. There’s a whole genre of VR artists now. You can explore their work, so I’m thinking about having a night … that we can do exhibits with those artists, and if they’re in Dallas, have them come into the [VR] space and have a meet-and-greet.”

Anyone interested in creating their art in virtual reality could have the opportunity to exhibit at VRSocial.

“It allows me to help people experience VR for free,” he said. “Just come in, put the headset on and see the art. No one understands until they put the headset on. It’s impossible.”

Pop-ups around Sulphur Springs are also in the works with a portable wirelessly connected headset, which will allow people to find out what VR is really about.

“You get a similar experience, but it’s not quite as immersive,” Hanson said about the pop-up VR.

But it gives people the idea of what VR is.

“I just want to create a space where the community can get involved and do more than just games,” Hanson said.

Hanson explained that there is applications for VR that extends beyond gaming, which includes providing experiences for the elderly and disabled.

“My mother-in-law, she still likes to get into the headset,” Hanson said. “The funny thing is, she likes Beat Saber. … I thought she would like ‘take me to Paris, take me to Rome,’ places she has never visited, … but what she really cared about was ‘Show me the places I’ve lived. Show me the old house down on [State Highway] 19.’ … That’s what she cared about, the memories.”

Hanson said Google provides enough data on Street View and provides for users to upload data to Google Maps that allows him to pull it up in VR. The experience lets the gamer “walk up” to any property in the Google database.

For the disabled, Hanson in a previous interview said that someone who isn’t able to get around as well because of limited or no mobility, such as with muscular dystrophy, can experience in VR the sensation of riding a horse, for example.

A 360-degree camera Hanson has could offer more unique experiences for individual VR users.

Eventually, Hanson said he’d like to start hosting watch parties for exclusive events, such as live-streamed concerts and gaming tournaments.

“You’re not just in the front row, … they also put cameras on stage, so you can jump from front row to the stage to the mic to different areas,” Hanson explained. “They also do some exclusive backstage interviews. They put the camera right in the middle, and they have the whole band all the way around. … It’s as if you’re seated right there with them.”

Gaming tournaments are definitely something Hanson wants to offer.

“We’re going to participate [in other tournaments] … and have our own tournaments,” he said. “It’s a big thing now.”

Hanson said he loves the competition and will be setting up a digital leaderboard in the arcade so gamers can track their local competitors.

Children 12 years and younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. And for those parents who don’t want their children exposed to violence in video games, Hanson said the system allows him to set restrictions and age limits for individual, younger gamers.

“Some things are not appropriate,” Hanson said. “We have the ability to do that.”

A refreshment area will have snacks and drinks available for a nominal fee, and lockers are available for anyone who wants to protect their belongings without worrying while engaged in virtual reality. Locks are provided.

Hanson said they also host birthday parties and other special events.

VRSocial is at 317 Spring St. in Sulphur Springs, and their hours are Fridays 5-10 p.m., Saturdays 1-10 p.m. and Sundays 3-9 p.m. The first day of the soft opening is Friday, Jan. 17. Reservations are needed and can be made online through Facebook or on their website, www.VRSocialSS.com.

For more information, updates and exclusive event announcements, visit VR-Social on Facebook.