Revisiting 19th century Paris with VR

I have fond memories of my past endeavors Combine VR content with real-world locationsI assumed the pandemic put an end to those ambitions. I thought if I wanted VR in 2024, I’d have to buy a headset, and it would be a largely solitary experience at home or in the office – not something I’d share with a crowd in a converted retail space.

But a new immersive experience proved me wrong.

Created by a French startup Excursion In collaboration with the Musée d’Orsay and another startup, Eclipse“Tonight with the Impressionists, Paris 1874” celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist art exhibition, taking visitors back to 19th-century Paris – first to the streets of the city, then to the exhibition itself, then to other key sites in the history of Impressionism.

After showings in France and Atlanta, “Tonight with the Impressionists” opened Friday at the Eclipso Center in New York. (As I understand it, Eclipso provides the space for virtual reality experiences, while Excurio creates the VR content.) Like other Excurio experiences, this one uses VR to make history and culture more accessible, while also providing a showcase for the company’s technology. .

At a press event earlier in the week, my partner and I walked into the great white room—apartments, galleries, lakeside retreats, and more. we joined a long line of people donning VR headsets before entering the 11,000 featureless square feet to be transformed.

Different Gap (my main point of reference for this kind of experience), Excurio and Eclipso don’t try to create a physical space or provide props for a virtual experience. This means that the Eclipso Center can host multiple experiences at once, but it can also lead to some awkward moments — like the virtual environment tilting upwards while the actual floor remains flat, or the Parisian couch being blocked by a floating red X . , reminded us that if we try to sit, we will fall to the ground.

Despite the awkwardness, we are indeed in Paris, looking at classic paintings and talking to their creators. Perhaps the most breathtaking moment was when we shared a balcony with Claude Monet, who painted.”Impression, Sunrise,” goes beyond the canvas to fill the horizon with his work.

Excurio emphasizes that its experience doesn’t require you to wear bulky VR backpacks, just a headset, and allows for multiple participants at the same time—in fact, the company recently said it broke the record for more than 100 simultaneous supports. free roaming participants in the same space. It manages those masses by offering a specific story that takes you to the place; with staggered start times, there shouldn’t be too much risk of colliding with someone else.

In practice, our crowds were so dense that we often saw white silhouettes of real people. We never bumped into them, but it added a bit of traffic dodging stress to the experience. And in the end, 45 minutes of “Tonight with the Impressionists” was a bit long for VR newbies like us — plenty of time for eye strain and equipment worries.

I haven’t experienced anything like this yet. Worth a look for anyone interested in Impressionist art, or even the creative and educational possibilities of VR.