If you have ever wanted to take a stroll in the desert, climb a high mountain, shoot an arrow or fight villains from outer space – that is now entirely possible. Virtual reality offers innumerable opportunities, that is why it has gone viral globally. This week virtual reality nights are on here, in Sofia.

The event is free of charge and anyone can enter the virtual world with the help of high-tech goggles and a headpiece. Once on, the goggles transport you to a computer world, altering reality completely. From aside it may look comic – the people testing VR wave their arms about or start at things only they can see. Bulgarians have a huge interest in this kind of new technology with hundreds already signed up. Victoria Victorova is marketing manager and organizer of the event:

“People know what virtual reality is from computer games. But here they have to put on glasses and headgear. When you move in the physical world, your character moves in the game, as if you really are there. The platforms we are offering at this time have two controllers you can use to do whatever is needed, depending on what is going on. What our guests love most is shooting a bow and arrow. One controller is the bow, the other pulls back the bowstring. There are so many things you can do in the virtual world that you wouldn’t dare do in the real world, like taking people up to really high virtual rocks. And when they step on the rock’s highest peak, they are afraid to take a step forward even though they know there is firm ground below. Their brain knows that but sends signals that there is an abyss in front of them. It is interesting to watch how different people react to the dissonance – what the brain knows and what their eyes are telling them.”

High-tech buffs can try out different models of glasses and headpieces with different criteria depending on the company that makes them and the effects they offer. Imagine a wireless virtual reality controlled by smartphone, a computer VR that includes gadgets like vibrating joysticks and a journey into the virtual world. Even though VR is mostly regarded as a way to play games, it has other applications as well:

“VR is applied abroad in many different ways and games account for a shrinking portion of the entire spectrum of applications. VR is used by NASA, the army, educational establishments, in medicine, by pilots, astronauts, real estate agents. To my mind the most important application of VR is that surgeons are able to practice before the actual operations. In Bulgaria virtual reality is used by psychologists and in real estate deals. Psychologists use it to treat phobias – fear of the dark, of heights, of public speaking”, Victoria Victorova says.

The event is on for a fortnight and the idea came when some of the organizers took a trip to Silicone Valley in USA where they saw firsthand and brought back some of the technologies – HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Morpheus etc., which can be used at home though they are still pricey.

Photos: Luisa Lazarova

English version: Milena Daynova