Virtual Adventures: The Loch Ness Expedition

Описание

Virtual Adventures: The Loch Ness Expedition
Theme park attraction
1993, United States of America
Iwerks Entertainment (now Simex-Iwkers), Evans & Sutherland
Iwerks Team: Eddie Newquist (Senior Vice President), Celia Pearce (Creative Director), Kirsten Newquist (Project Manager), Michael Haimson (Product Manager); Evans & Sutherland Team: Kellan Hatch (Lead Software Engineer), Michael Jackson (Senior Software Engineer), Joyce Mellus (Lead Host Software Engineer)
Video used with permission of Simex-Iwerks

Virtual Adventures: The Loch Ness Expedition was a 24-player virtual reality attraction in which four teams of six players entered a virtual submersible pod to rescue the Loch Ness Monster's eggs from bounty hunters. Players took the helm of six distinct controls within the physical submarine, collaborating to locate and bring the eggs on board, while avoiding looming sea creatures and other players whose ships appeared as bounty hunters.

Virtual Adventures was designed to be a family- and female-friendly alternative to the virtual reality games of the time, all of which focused on individual combat. Instead, Virtual Adventures offered a collaborative experience that focused on a collecting rather than a killing mechanic. The game used then state-of-the art flight simulator technology created by Evans & Sutherland, whose founder Ivan Sutherland is credited with inventing virtual reality. Virtual Adventures won numerous citations and awards, including the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Best VR, Best in Show at IAAPA, and inclusion in the prestigious SIGGRAPH Animation Festival. It was installed in three locations, including the Nauticus National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Creative Director Pearce also developed trading card games for the Purple Moon CD-ROM series, featured in the Timewall of this exhibition. In addition to Pearce, several other women held pivotal roles on the project.