FOLEY - A brand new, exciting experience has opened in Foley, and it is aiming to make sure that no one plays video games the same way again.
The Wormhole, located in South Foley, is a one-of-a-kind place that allows players to come in and live virtual reality adventures.
Upon entering, players are greeted by four fully operational booths, each hooked to their own computer terminal and ready to take players into the world of VR. This is the very first virtual reality gaming business of this type to open not only in Baldwin County, but in Alabama. So far, there are only a few gaming opportunities of this type across the entire country.
“We’ve heard there was one in Destin,” said co-owner Lauren Lowery. “The other two I know of for sure are in Bloomington, Illinois, and Normal, Illinois, and they’re like Foley and Gulf Shores in city relations.”
Virtual reality gaming has been a growing interest in the gaming community for a few years, but it wasn’t until recently, with the release of more games and word of mouth, that it truly began to take off. Unfortunately for many gamers, the price for the equipment and the computers that it takes to run such games quickly adds up. This doesn’t account for the amount of floor space one must clear to be able to play VR games.

In came Shane and Lauren Lowery, with an innovative idea that they wanted to bring to the Gulf Coast.

THE DREAM

“Shane is more of the gamer, this was definitely his idea,” Lauren said. “I was the logo designer, website designer, layout of the area, colors, interior, advertising, that’s me. He’s the technician. I’m the business end, and he makes things work.”

The two worked together to bring their dream to life. From the paint on the walls to the desk beside the front door, the pair not only planned and designed their business, but built it up as well.
“We actually started while coming home from Illinois,” Lauren said. “We had 18 hours of nothing to do in a car together, and so Shane was like, ‘You know what? Let’s do something cool in our area, do something they don’t have.’ He loves VR, before this, and so that’s when I decided to do the logo in the car. That’s when we came up with The Wormhole, an alternate reality fix. With the wormhole in space, you get sucked into it and you go to a different world, a different reality, and that’s kind of like VR. You put those goggles on, and you’re in a whole new world. And that’s why we put ‘an alternate reality fix,’ because once you play VR, it’s hard to go back to a regular video game.”
Despite the planning and technology that goes into any business involving video games, it took the two a surprisingly short time to make their dream a reality.
“It took from September 2016 to March of this year to get all the planning done, but we actually built the place in two weeks,” Lauren stated. “There were some really late nights, until two or three o’clock in the morning in here.”

THE ADVENTURE

Opening in April, The Wormhole currently has 42 games to offer players, but they’re looking to buy more soon and expand the catalog even further. Lauren reveled that they’re watching after a few open world games in a World of Warcraft type genre. As of now, you can find popular games such as Space Pirates, The Lab, The Brookhaven Experiment, and Batman: Arkham City.
They have games for everyone, and most the games they offer are family friendly. Even still, they also monitor and check on any gamers who step inside a booth, so parents don’t have to worry if their child wants to switch out a game.
“For six and older, we do give them an option,” Lauren said. “If they want to play the zombie games, they can, but if it’s too scary in the beginning then they can change games. We go by each station every five to ten minutes to make sure players are good, and if they want to switch games, they can.”

This is true for not only children but for anyone who wishes to try their hand at virtual reality. Upon entering, players can look at games on tablets provided by The Wormhole to see what games are offered and watch previews of the titles before playing. It is recommended that they choose four or five different games, so once they start playing all they have to do is let either Shane or Lauren know and they will switch the game. This way, no one is stuck playing a game they end up not liking, or they can try multiple experiences.
Observing the equipment, the games load quickly even when switching, so if anyone was looking to try a few different titles at once they wouldn’t have to take off their goggles or wait long.
Select titles offer a multiplayer function, which allows players to go against their friends. Just schedule two booths for the same date and time, and you can choose a selection from the multiplayer screen and go against your friends in a virtual reality setting. So far they only have one game, Battle Dome, that can hold up to four players. If anyone is looking to test their skills against three of their friends, then they only have to make plans for all four booths and start the competition. For this option, it works best to call ahead to make the plans with either Shane or Lauren, so that they can have all the booths set up and online when the players arrive.
Of course, if gaming isn’t your thing, then there’s always the option of watching your friends as well. The booths are open for viewing, and the computers are mounted on the walls outside of the booths. When a player is inside their personal VR escape, viewers can watch from couches and not only see what their friends or children are seeing, but also watch those inside the booths.
“A lot of people really like watching others play, especially when it’s a scarier game, seeing their friends jump,” Lauren said.
Those who are not gamers are also more than welcome inside, and they may even be surprised to learn that The Wormhole had them in mind when planning.
“For those who aren’t gamers, they’re able to do experiences, such as Google Earth,” Lauren stated. “You can go to Rome or Antarctica, and it’s like you’re actually there. And TheBlu is another popular one where you can just look around at fishes as they swim by you, and it’s like you’re actually underwater. And in The Whale Encounter, you’re underwater on a sunken ship, and a whale comes up to you. That’s my favorite.”
For the more interactive games, the controllers show up in the goggles, so you can easily coordinate your moves. Also, all of the booths are padded, so if a player becomes too immersed and accidently bumps the wall there won’t be damage.

BUT WHAT ABOUT…?

If anyone is worried about playing a longer, interactive game with a storyline and not being able to finish in the allotted time, they’ve got you covered.
“We do have it where you play the longer, story-based games on one of the computers, and you can save it and come back to where you left off,” Lauren said. “You just have to come back to the same computer, so you have to come when that station is available, which all the stations are numbered. So you can reserve your spot, just call in and, “I want to play on station two, playing Arkham City, when will that one be available?”
For non-gamers, demos are offered, and Lauren highly recommends everyone trying one.
“We have some people who come in and they just want to let their kids play, they don’t want to try it out. And I tell them to just do a demo, it’s free. They can see their kids playing on the TV screen and they’re like, ‘That’s cool,’ but when they actually try it out, they come out going, ‘It’s so much cooler in here than it is just watching it on a screen.’ It’s totally different, it’s something you definitely have to try.”

They offer a selection of a few demo titles that everyone is welcome to try out, and once they have, old school gaming will never be the same again.
“You have to try it to understand,” Lauren said. “That’s why we offer the free demo, because if you don’t put the goggles on, you don’t realize how realistic it is. We do ask people if they like more interactive games or if they are not really a gamer but play every once in a while, so if they play every once in a while that’s when we put them in TheBlu. But if they’re more of an interactive gamer, then that’s when we put them in Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine.”
In the future, they hope to offer even more games, and to open up a fifth booth to players. By Christmas, there’s a possibility of seeing a Throwback Thursday, which will include Atari games and possibly games from the original Nintendo.
For shorter term plans, they hope to spread the word, and with the summer coming up, introducing a unique and interactive place for families, both gaming and non.
“Every station filled for every hour, that’s our goal,” Lauren said.
They’re currently offering play times of $15 for 30 minutes, and $20 for an hour, a great price to play with such high-quality equipment. You can book your play either by calling The Wormhole at 251-943-7695 or on their website at http://www.thewormholevr.com/. You can check their Facebook page for new offers and announcements at https://www.facebook.com/thewormholevrfoley/.
The Wormhole is the first of its kind in our area, and is the only place here where you can have an adventure of this nature. Once the goggles are on, they’re to scale, so the outside world is completely blocked out. Whether you’re a gamer looking to fend off a zombie invasion or you’re just looking to get the experience, you can find it at The Wormhole.