Tim McKay traveled all the way from Chicago to Utah, only to end up in Duke Nukem's world.
His friend, Kyle Sanders, talked him into making the cyberspace leap. Now Sanders and McKay are sitting side-by-side in black faux leather chairs at Alternet Reality in Trolley Square. But they're really someplace else.With joypads in their hands and space age goggle/helmets on their heads, Sanders and McKay are immersed in Duke's world.
True, Sanders and McKay don't look much like themselves once they show up in Duke Nukem territory. The characters they've chosen to be look more Stallonesque, more furtive.
And it's also true Duke Nukem's stomping ground is not a pretty place. It's a maze of cinderblock walls and corridors. Enemies lurk behind corners and pop out when you least expect it. So you just toss a fireball at them.
"Whooo. That's cool," McKay says, as flames consume his friend.
Now that's something you can't do in the park. And your enemies, who are really your friends, don't mind it at all.
Why settle for Mountain Dell Golf Course or Sugarhouse Park or Zion when you can be in Doom, Duke Nukem or MechWarrier2? That's the thrill and attraction of virtual reality. You can be anyone, anyplace, at any time.
Scientist Jaron Lanier coined the term in 1989 to describe a three-dimensional, interactive environment generated by computer. The sights, sounds and feelings of a virtual world come via stereoscopic goggles with earphones, tactile gloves and body suits and sometimes a movable platform or seat.
Virtual reality has practical applications - in medicine, military training and scientific research. But virtual reality is also creating a new realm of fun and games.
Scholar Cheris Kramarae thinks our enchantment with virtual reality shows "an interest in moving to a more sanitized world without the messes we've made."
Richard Thornell's reason for getting into the virtual reality business were more a matter of instinct. He found himself staying up until 2 a.m. playing virtual reality games over computer networks. It was a hoot. Maybe others wanted to fly away to virtual spaces.
Next he set up a system in his basement that let up to 11 people play a virtual reality game at one time. He never lacked players.
Last spring, he and his wife MariaLouisa "Malou" opened Alternet Reality.
The lure at Alternet Reality is not just man vs. machine. It's boy vs. girl and friend vs. friend in a fake place that seems real.
"You show up with your girlfriend and we turn you loose in a castle and let you be puppy dogs playing tag with each other," Thornell says.
There used to be another virtual reality center downtown - CyberSpace Virtual Reality. The owners closed the entertainment center recently to focus on providing virtual reality experiences for businesses, conventions and at private parties. Cyberspace's 3-D worlds let you experience a beating in World Heavyweight Boxing, tracking aliens in Zone Hunter or being swooped skyward by a pterodactyl in Dactyl Nightmare.
"Our biggest client is exhibitors at trade shows who want to increase traffic at booths and to give their image a boost by association with virtual reality," says Tres Hatch, marketing director. "A company with virtual reality at their booth is thought to be by association very high-tech and innovative."
Alternet Reality also caters company events. When Clarke American started a total quality management program, it hired Alternet Reality to stage a team-building exercise.
Twenty-one employees spent part of a day playing "Rise of the Triad," which requires cooperative strategizing used in capture-the-flag games. The players got points as they improved their communication skills from one game to the next.
"It actually did a lot to help employees with the concepts we were trying to teach," said Eric Estep, quality assurance manager at Clarke American, which makes checks for local banks. "They had to work at it."
OK, he admits. "They had a blast doing it."
Richard Thornell is optimistic that virtual reality gaming has a future. He's organized a virtual reality league, which counts 110 people as members.
Using aliases like "Maxum" and "MindFlare" and "Boogey Woman," they travel to other worlds together on Tuesday nights. Alternet Reality also hops on Friday and Saturday nights.
"A lot of 14- to 29-year-old males end up here on date night," says Thornell.
He grabs his wrist and points his watch at a 58-inch Toshiba TV at the front of the store. The sound level rises to a thunderous roar as he fingers the watch/remote and prepares to launch McKay and Sanders into Duke Nukem.
Pretty soon their heads start bobbing as they track each other's movements.
They are oblivious to onlookers, though every now and then they give little laughs that sound like startled hiccups.
"It feels like you're in there," McKay says.
--Where to play virtual reality games:
Alternet Reality, Trolley Square, 328-8004. $3 for a five-minute session, $10 for 30 minutes. Four pods for one hour, $60.
Cyberspace Virtual Reality Events, 264-9989. One pair of pods for a day, $2,200.