Extreme Machine (Xtrematic)
The game: A VR simulator that transports you to a variety of worlds, from roller coasters and snowmobiles to straight-up getting murdered by velociraptors. The action takes place on a raised platform with a handlebar, and tilting it in various directions allows the user to turn, to tip and to do the Twist in a manner that would make Chubby Checker proud.
No, I refuse to update that to a more topical reference, because all popular music is terrible. I don’t know what a Post Malone is, but I look forward to living in the post-Post Malone era.
The issue: Most virtual reality arcade games are atrocious, in actual fact. The technology is just too underdeveloped and overpriced; nobody has quite figured out how to use it properly, yet everyone insists on pushing it out into the market anyway.
This particular machine gets special mention, however, because it is a frontrunner in useless gadgets. It requires the use of an HTC Vive or an Oculus Rift, but other than a tether attaching it to the machine, there is nothing to actually protect that expensive piece of equipment. It gets thrown, dropped, banged against the handlebar, and otherwise thrashed whenever it’s put into use.
The solution for this is to assign a staff member to man the machine at all times. It’s a good way to punish anyone who’s underperforming, because being banished to the Extreme VR is quite the harsh sentence.
The internal PCs are temperamental, and liable to de-sync with the game program, and as for the games themselves? They’re… just not any fun, to be honest.
They all feel like generic, uninspired tech demos that should have never left the shop floor. It doesn’t matter which variation of ‘lean and frown’ game you play, they’re all just the same drivel, and people will often just give up halfway through, removing the headset and walking away in disgust.
I’m no businessman (I might have a marketing degree, I’m not 100% sure), but if the customer’s impression of your game is that it’s expensive and unenjoyable, they’re probably not going to tell their friends about it. So unless they’re going to recommend it to people they don’t like as a nasty trick, you won’t be seeing many subsequent visits.
