No, this is not my new look — and thankfully so because it’s not a flattering one — but it was a lot of fun. I am not a gamer…at all, so I didn’t expect much when I put the headset on to try out virtual reality courtesy of VR Arcade NOLA.
The first thing that happened was magic — suddenly I was transported hundreds of feet down in the ocean onto the deck of a sunken ship. Everywhere around me fish were swimming by, so real I tried to reach out and touch them and then quickly caught myself and laughed. I walked around the ship a bit, looking up toward the surface from time to time checking out my surroundings.
Just as I started to get used to my peaceful little undersea existence, I saw a figure emerging from the distance. As it came closer the dark shadow took the form of a blue whale — and it was heading straight at me. Closer and closer it came as I stood there, frozen. Finally it stopped next to me, a giant staring eye just out of reach.
This was not the kind of gaming experience I’ve ever known — not even close. After just that few minutes of introduction, I was hooked. “What else is there?” I pleaded with VR Arcade NOLA founders David and Devin, who were only too happy to send me on my way, shooting down spaceships and creating giant paintings.
Also, unlike with typical video games (at least for me) I found it almost as fun watching my friends and coworkers step into this alternate reality. Everyone looks ridiculous doing it, but all I can say is it’s soo worth it.
As for the other, more important new look, you may have noticed that Biz New Orleans has received a bit of a facelift this month, all courtesy of our new, national award-winning art director, Sarah George. We figured spring is the perfect time for new beginnings, and this is one I’m truly excited about.
Along with the redesign comes some fun new web features. We invite you to visit BizNewOrleans.com and step beyond the pages of the magazine with enjoy a few videos we took during the process of creating this issue. Please let me know what you think!
Happy Reading!