Just as the Annecy festival was discussing the importance of brands (or IPs in English) in immersive creation, the first Asterix experience was announced. Aimed at LBE VR, and exclusively for the Virtual Room network (which produces it in its entirety), this is a new chapter in the adventures of the highly interactive little Gaul… and a milestone for the group’s VR arcades, which will have this new content available from the start of the 2024 season. First immersix (!) look with Benoît Bouthinon, Managing Director of Virtual Room.
Les aventures d’Astérix arrivent en VR dans le réseau Virtual Room (French press release)
Virtual Room, from escape game to narrative immersion
Benoît Bouthinon – Basically, we come from the world of escape games. But we wanted to tell our stories, develop our narratives through these game mechanics. In 2016, we proposed a prototype LBE VR venue in Paris, to see what it could achieve. It quickly became clear that we needed to manage everything from A to Z, from operations to the production of adapted content. It was through our meeting with Vincent Kawnick and Thomas Knoll, from the creative studio “Monsieur K” (link), that the project came to fruition. Together, we created Virtual Room.
B. B. – From there, and as early as 2017, we opened an ephemeral Virtual Room space to test the audience, what we liked, how to apprehend the flows. The feedback was excellent, so we set about producing a catalog of experiences needed to attract, and keep, our spectators coming back. At the same time, the network grew around Paris, Brussels, Australia, Singapore and the USA. Today, we have 15 cinemas, mainly in France, Belgium and Switzerland. The first lesson we learned was that VR content that had been finalized and adapted to our theaters was easy to distribute. And over time! The escape game experience was essential in this start-up phase.
B. B. – Virtual Room’s aim has always been to offer something for the general public, and the idea of producing our own content quickly took shape, as we couldn’t find the experiences we wanted. So when we opened our first venue, we realized that we’d also be producing our own experiences. We needed more storytelling than in conventional LBE VR circuits, with full multiplayer and support before and after. That’s what Virtual Room is all about. Since our launch, most arcades have come to the same conclusion. Other parallel models exist, such as EVA’s large-scale arcades, which require more technical resources and space – but remain focused on FPS-based video games. It’s a superb success story too, and a major player in the LBE VR sector. Just like Emissive’s immersive expeditions, on the cultural side.
B. B. – We immediately wanted to push the medium further by producing content that would challenge immersiveness, with a multi-player possibility. We did this through 4 existing experiences: TIME TRAVEL chapters 1 and 2, ARE WE DEAD? and PRESS START. And of course, our next event, ASTÉRIX: MISSION POTIONS! We’ve turned to entertainment licenses to break down the image of virtual reality, which is perceived as very technological and geeky. We need to break through this “glass ceiling” and reach out to a wider audience. And that means exploiting recognized brands – which speak to as many people as possible – with universes conducive to the medium. We met quite a few rights holders, including Les Éditions Albert René, with whom we had a discussion. We had a lot in common, a similar energy around Asterix. For us, it’s a real opportunity to bring in a family audience to discover leisure VR, and offer an important insight into the immersive sector.
ASTÉRIX : MISSION POTIONS !, a 100% Virtual Room production
B. B. – Development and production took a year, all in-house at Virtual Room. We want to offer the best VR game for Asterix, based on our proposal and the support of the Éditions Albert René teams, but without rushing into anything. With us, it was a creative and industrial apprenticeship. There was a real charter for using the universe and the characters, which had to be reproduced in VR with constraints and obligations. This is normal, and above all a real creative space once the rules have been established!
B. B. – The new scenario will be adapted to the VR escape game model, with some obvious activities (chasing wild boar, visiting village houses, making potion, brawling with Romans…) but with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. ASTÉRIX: MISSION POTIONS! is currently in Beta phase, with a summer period dedicated to improving the visual experience. This is essential if we are to win over fans of the franchise, and VR regulars alike.
B. B. – As with all our titles, ASTÉRIX is played by 2 or 4 players. After that, we can accommodate larger groups depending on our facilities; in Paris we have 14 play zones. It’s a collaborative experience, with exploration and activities to be carried out by several players at the same time. It’s an essential criterion for attracting people to VR, to be able to enjoy this type of experience collectively. Even if, on some things, it’s for a contemplative proposition. With us, we focus on narrative and interactivity, for a family audience. And an experience that remains affordable (in its gameplay), fun and accessible!
Worldwide distribution from launch
B. B. – The project is being carried out with a real mark of confidence in immersive. Since our announcement about Asterix, many customers have been calling us back to find out more. Our teams are highly motivated, and we’re embarking on a real training program for each Virtual Room site. It’s going to be a big launch, in around twenty cities worldwide – initially for French content, as we’ve called on the official Asterix dubbers, on the recommendation of Editions Albert René. International dubbing will follow. The curiosity is there. What’s more, we’re getting closer to a universe linked to Asterix, which celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2024. It’s up to us to fit into this more global dynamic. In addition to the Parc d’Astérix, of course, we need to understand and discuss all the marketing possibilities and the use of derivative products – including a future exhibition at the Atelier des Lumières. These are all ways of communicating about the VR experience. We’ll even be offering to send viewers photos of their in-game participation.
B. B. – Since the end of the pandemic, we’ve noticed a change in public habits. Today, people book at the last minute, to keep as much freedom as possible for their outings. Seasonality plays a huge role, and we have to work with that. ASTÉRIX: MISSION POTIONS! will arrive in September, and will be our big news until the end of the year. The arrival of licenses, or IPs (trademarks recognized in entertainment), is a fundamental trend coming out of the United States, in all cultural sectors. It’s something that reassures the public and identifies the experience. At Virtual Room, we’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but it complements an established catalog and existing expertise. We hope this will create a virtuous circle to attract a new audience, a craze for the medium. It bears repeating, but the hardest part is getting people into virtual reality; once they’ve had their first experience, we’ve had great feedback! Virtual Room offers very family-oriented, adventurous content that can appeal to the widest possible audience.
B. B. – We need to market our experiences better. We’ve reached a time when the medium must take a back seat to the content, because it’s the content that’s important. This is where well-known names can help us develop our audience, our network of cinemas and establish immersive as a part of the entertainment industry. Today, LBE VR exists, the content is of much higher quality, we know how to welcome the public, and everything is in place to develop the VR entertainment industry. ASTÉRIX: MISSION POTIONS! is a fantastic opportunity to prove what we can offer the public.
https://www.virtual-room.com/mission/asterix-mission-potions
The Virtual Room Network (France + Worldwide)
- Paris
- Strasbourg
- Bordeaux
- Rennes
- Nantes
- Lille
- Orléans
- Toulon
- Brest
- Clermont-Ferrand
- Toulouse
- Saint-Brieuc
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