In the top-secret headquarters of Industrial Light & Magic, a group of artists, engineers, sound designers, and storytellers are hatching plans to build the coolest "Star Wars" theme park ever imagined.
The ILMxLab, the special effects company's research and development arm, is prototyping virtual reality and augmented reality technologies that will allow park-goers to "step into a cinematic moment in a physical space." These experiences could open the door into the "Star Wars" universe in a way traditional rides could never do.
At the Bloomberg Businessweek Design 2016 conference in San Francisco, Tech Insider had the chance to sit down with Vicki Dobbs Beck, the executive in charge of the ILMxLab.
"What you get, obviously, in a theme park is 100% control over your physical environment, as well as whatever digital elements you interject into that world," Dobbs Beck says.
Disney, which purchased Lucasfilm for a mammoth $4 billion in 2012, announced plans for "Star Wars" theme lands at its parks in Orlando, Florida, and Anaheim, California, in late summer 2015.
Plans for the parks have been kept tightly under wraps, though we do know there will be two big attractions — one that depicts a battle between the First Order group and the Resistance, and another that puts park guests in control of Han Solo's Millennium Falcon.
While Dobbs Beck declined to say whether virtual reality would play a role in the rides, it seems more than likely based on ILMxLab's involvement in the parks' development.
The group builds immersive entertainment experiences for the home and public venues like theme parks. The first major product rollout, called "Trials on Tatooine," was developed for the Oculus Rift headset and allows wearers to take in a scene on the desert planet from the perspective of a Stormtrooper. Users can also wield a lightsaber, an experience that Dobbs Beck says brought some fans to tears at the Game Developers Conference in March.
The ILMxLab also created a system which allows movie directors to preview a set design in virtual reality before it's constructed. This ability helped Gareth Edwards, director of the upcoming "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," visualize the sets in his movie and make cost-saving edits.
From a consumer perspective, the appeal of virtual reality is the ability to experience piloting an AT-AT or sitting in the cockpit of a X-wing from the comfort of a theme park ride.
"We are looking at ways to use the movies as portals to enrich and expand the universe of the film," Dobbs Beck says. "I sometimes think about it as, the movie is linear and [virtual reality] is like punching through a scene and opening it up in another direction or dimension."
Dobbs Beck confirmed that members of the ILMxLab have visited The Void, a company based outside Salt Lake City, Utah, that is developing a theme park that blends physical environments with virtual reality.
"It's an interesting concept," Dobbs Beck says.
While Disney has yet to announce an official opening for the "Star Wars" parks, several reports say it is set for a 2018 debut.
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