Virtual visit to the Oktoberfest? Seriously? This is probably the most intense part of life that can happen to you – experiencing it at home with glasses on your nose and two devices in your hand? How do you come up with an idea like that? Well, out of sheer necessity: After all, the Oktoberfest had to be canceled twice in a row due to the pandemic, which seems like an eternity ago. In these bitter times, the first thing that will be experienced in the virtual world on the first day of the Oktoberfest this year took shape: the virtual reality game “Oktoberfest – The Official Game”. One thing up front: As dizzy as you can get on the real Oktoberfest, even inexperienced VR players can get wobbly.
Thomas Wagner and Oliver Simon are naturally steadfast: As CCO and CEO of the Untergiesinger K5 Factory GmbH, the two have spent years in the virtual world, filmed Go-Pro videos in real life on Oktoberfest rides, recorded the beer tent atmosphere, and implemented all of this and much more into the game. Now they are counting down the days until their baby will see the light of the Oktoberfest world: on September 21st, when the clock strikes twelve o’clock in reality. And so that Oktoberfest fans don’t enter this VR world completely unprepared, a few journalists have already been let stumble ahead – which is to be taken quite literally.
Anyone who rarely wears virtual reality glasses will work up a sweat at the virtual Oktoberfest, even if they don’t move a meter from the spot. While advanced VR users happily laugh and enjoy rides like freefall or topspin, beginners get dizzy just trying to walk straight along the beer street using the device. If you press the button in your left hand with your thumb, you accelerate a lot, and if you activate the so-called teleportation beam in your right hand, you beam yourself somewhere else entirely, like in Star Trek. For those who are inexperienced, this can lead to a very noticeable movement effect, and that without alcohol.
This motion sickness, also called cyber sickness, describes a condition in which there is a discrepancy between visually perceived movement and the sense of movement of the balance system, similar to seasickness, where the brain cannot clearly perceive the ship’s movements. Possible consequences: upset stomach, cold sweat, dizziness, paleness and headaches.
If you don’t have any side effects, it’s a lot of fun, either alone or with others. It starts with dressing the avatar. There are lots of different options, but not everyone can do them equally well, as one colleague’s comment shows: “Do you know that you’re wearing a dirndl?” It doesn’t matter, it’s just a game!
At first you walk wobbly, but gradually more confidently over time, across the pleasantly moderately busy Theresienwiese, grab a virtual pretzel, listen to the Schichtl, try your hand at the shooting range, throwing cans or the flying frogs – and then avoid the rides, just like in real life. You’re not supposed to be afraid of heights on the free fall, they said beforehand. Swing boats and everything that spins have been left out completely: far too wild.
It’s better to go into the beer tent, which is extremely cozy, not to say cute.
You can hear brass music, no Oktoberfest hits, for licensing reasons. Nobody is dancing on the benches at the moment, but that is also possible in virtual life, they say. Drinking beer is also possible, but you have to serve yourself one. You can play the role of a barman, but here too you have to pay attention to the measuring line: “Too little,” complains the VR game. The game does have one big advantage: if all the hustle and bustle gets too much, you can simply take the glasses off – and wait until nothing is spinning anymore.