The IT Nerd

Come see the future with art that comes to life! House of VR is proud to announce an interactive showcase on Aug 1-15 from the viral hit art book, Prosthetic Reality. Utilizing cutting-edge AR (Augmented Reality) technology, the experience allows viewers to digitally interact with physical artwork through their mobile phones and provided tablets. The exhibit showcases the work of 30 international artists, digital animators and sound designers. Please bring earbud headphones for the best experience!

In partnership with Crayola Canada, House of VR will be featuring a playful AR colouring zone for kids! With Colour Alive 2.0, colouring flies off the page with characters that come to life through Augmented Reality, giving kids an interactive experience and fusing real-world creativity with digital play. Kids can colour for free in the Kids Zone and books (including free crayons) will be for sale.

EYEJACK
EyeJack is an Augmented Reality App and platform that specializes in the curation and distribution of augmented art. EyeJack is currently representing 45 AR artists from around the world and is dedicated to building a community around augmented art. www.eyejackapp.com

HOUSE OF VR
House of VR is Toronto’s premier Virtual Reality lounge + event space. Located in trendy Queen West (at Bathurst), House of VR has quickly become a central hub of futuristic technology in the city. House of VR has been featured on CBC, CTV, CityNews, the Toronto Star, blogTO, Toronto Life and many more.

House of VR will be curating and updating content on a weekly basis so every visit will have some fresh new experiences. www.houseofvr.com

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/771212363039846/?ref=br_rs

View a promotional video here:

Over the weekend I attended the launch of House of VR in downtown Toronto. House of VR is Toronto’s First Virtual Reality Lounge. A futuristic arcade, gallery and event space, House of VR is located in the historic Burroughes Building at 639 Queen Street West (at Bathurst). Let me give you a quick tour.

You cannot miss seeing this location at night as it looks very unique. Even on Queen St. W. which has a lot of hip and cool places.

On the main floor are booths with green screens which literally insert the player into the game that they are playing so that viewers get a very immersive experience. The headsets in use are the HTC Vive and they have workstation class computers to power each booth.

Scattered throughout both floors of the facility are these pods that have Samsung Gear VR headsets for more “passive” VR experiences. They’re handy for relaxing after working up a sweat playing some of the other games.

Upstairs are booths without the green screens.But that doesn’t mean that they are any less fun.

I noted that some of the players were wearing a Subpac like this one so that they can “feel” the game as in you will feel a hit to the body for example. I should also note that the handheld controls do have haptic feedback to them.

I normally don’t take pictures of bathrooms, but this one was indicative of the art that House of VR scattered around the facility. Oh yeah, I should note this:

The bathrooms are gender neutral.

House of VR is now open. The website has pricing info for individuals and groups depending on what you want to do. Just make sure you leave your cash at home as they only accept debit, credit, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. After all the future as far as they are concerned, the future is paperless. Check it out if you want a different sort of night out.