Challenges Escape Room Businesses Face By Using VR

This article was originally published at Escape Front.

As we learned in the latest article, VR escape games like those offered by Avatarico can raise capacity, improve scalability, reduce costs, and increase variation in escape rooms. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows!

You can’t just press the “magic VR button” and automatically get transported to a world without problems. As a matter of fact, the easiest part of the whole process is pushing that button and buying the product. After this, there are some important challenges to deal with.

This post covers these challenges and how to overcome them!

Managing Expectations

One of the first things to keep in mind is the expectations held in both your own and your visitor’s minds. As an entrepreneur, you need to accept the differences between VR escape rooms and normal escape rooms, as well as the fact that it may take some time before it becomes the industry standard.

You also have visitor expectations to manage, as for many of them, it will be their first time visiting a VR-based escape room. Ensuring clients have a clear understanding of the game they’re about to play before getting started is vital. This prevents unmet expectations and helps to minimize some of the other issues we’ll cover in this post.

You can do this by providing information about the games on your website or before beginning the escape room game. We always suggest that you provide information on the bookings page of your website, and on the phone prior to booking to ensure your visitors know what they’re signing up for!

Cleanliness

When materials are shared by visitors, it’s always important to ensure that correct processes are in place to keep everything clean and hygienic. Headsets, headphones and other items shared by visitors should be cleaned thoroughly between sessions.

Kinetosis

So-called ‘motion sickness’ can occur now and again when running a VR escape room. It’s nothing to get worked up about, but it’s a reality you have to deal with from time to time.

Only a small portion of people have severe cases of kinetosis, and there are actually a few things you can do to reduce the number of cases and/or severity!

The first thing is to ensure the temperature in the room is between 18-22 C°. Another thing you can do is to note that eating unhealthy food prior to starting may increase the risk of kinetosis. The same is true when a player is hungover.

You should also always ask beforehand if there are any players sensitive to kinetosis and mention that the game could make them feel uncomfortable. Avoid the word ‘sick’ since it works as a placebo.

If you have a player that is susceptible to kinetosis, make sure they feel comfortable to give you a shout if they’re feeling particularly poorly.

Make sure to keep an eye on these players to ensure there are no signs of kinetosis or discomfort from the player.

Should a player not be able to handle it, it goes without saying that you should treat them well. Bring them a glass of water and keep an eye on them until they’re feeling better.

Allow them to discuss amongst themselves if they’d like to continue or stop.

VR Marketing

You see it all the time… VR escape rooms using the VR technology itself as a selling point. Sure, it’s a great technology that might turn a few heads, but it’s not the reason people visit escape rooms!

People go to escape rooms to have fun, socialize and test their skills. Just because you’re a VR escape room doesn’t mean the reason for going is any different.

Back in the 90s and 00s, people didn’t go to the arcade to play the games. They went to socialize with their friends.

As an escape room owner, you’re selling an experience and not a product. Make sure to keep this in mind when structuring your marketing to prevent your new business idea turning into a ghost town.

Obstacles

This one is especially relevant to free-roam VR games as players falling over obstacles or each other is a safety hazard. It’s important to create a safe environment for your players and try to keep the area clear as much as possible.

By monitoring the games, you can ensure that any risk of injury is reduced. It also goes without saying that proper medical equipment should be nearby at all times in case something goes wrong.

Should a player injure themselves, it’s important that your staff has first-aide training to ensure that the situation is handled correctly. The chances of serious injury because of falling over are small, but it can happen and it’s something to be prepared for.

Where To Go From Here?

This list is short of a complete overview, but it details some of the most common challenges that VR escape game entrepreneurs face. That being said, there are a huge number of upsides that come with VR over more-traditional escape games that make it more than worth it.

These upsides are often enough for entrepreneurs to switch to VR, or to start a VR escape room over a traditional one. The result is more scalability, fewer costs and a setup that’s ready for the future.

In anything you do, it’s important to come prepared. By making sure you’re ready for the challenges that VR escape games bring with them, you’ll have the biggest chance of success.

Conclusion

There are a few challenges that come with VR escape room centers. Some are easy to overcome with a bit of planning while others take more effort on your part.

By following the tips provided in this post and consulting with VR escape game providers like Avatarico, you can ensure these challenges are overcome without them causing any issues to your business.