‘A completely different world’: Virtual reality arcade opens in Westmoreland Mall

When Dan Roble first put on a virtual reality headset in 2016, his reaction was not what he had hoped.

“It made me sick (after) the first 15 minutes or so,” said Roble, 35, of Latrobe.

But the technology has improved significantly over the past eight years to prevent users from experiencing vertigo-like symptoms, Roble said — so much that he was inspired to open a virtual reality arcade in Westmoreland Mall with business partner Robert Ament.

Roble worked for Pittsburgh-based startup Metafy until the end of 2022. The company created web pages and online profiles for professional esports players to help them offer one-on-one coaching to their audience.

After parting ways with Metafy, Ament — an acquaintance — suggested he and Roble collaborate on the arcade.

Ament was fascinated by virtual reality but was unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the technology. Roble’s background in esports would come in handy.

“I thought ‘What the heck — I can’t do it on my own,” said Ament, 64, of Punxsutawney.

The two landed on a space in the Hempfield mall and began renovating and purchasing virtual reality equipment in July. The Reality Room opened its doors in November, drawing more than 1,000 customers to date, Roble estimates.

The Reality Room features a variety of arcade-style games and an escape room. The virtual reality equipment cost more than $250,000, Roble said.

When visitors don their headsets, they are immersed in a virtual world, each with their own storyline and missions, Roble said. Some prompt the user to race a motorcycle, fend off a horde of zombies or glide through the air in a wingsuit.

Other machines come with hydraulics and wind tunnels, carrying the user on a virtual roller coaster ride.

But the Reality Room’s main attraction, Roble said, is Tower Tag Battlezone — a shooting game where players maneuver between tower-like structures to block shots from the opponent. Players wear haptic vests that send a vibration when shot at.

The Reality Room is the first venue in the country to have the Tower Tag setup, Ament said.

“It’s a learning curve for us too,” he said. “Everything we want to get into in the near future is the first of its kind.”

Each game costs $5 and lasts about 4 to 7 minutes. The escape room, which can last up to an hour, costs $30.

The cost of a virtual reality headset has become more accessible for at-home users in recent years, Roble said, coming in around $250.

“You can do VR at home. You can do VR here. The difference is immersive VR,” Roble said. “(It’s) just a full different experience than you standing in a 7-by-7 square in your room trying not to hit the wall by accident.”

Even companies are starting to use virtual reality in their workplace training, he said. UPS rolled out driving and delivery simulators at its facilities across the country in 2020. It nearly doubled the number of simulators in March.

Roble and Ament plan to launch a Tower Tag tournament in February. Construction is being completed for a five-dimensional theater, which will feature 63 movie options accompanied by wind, smoke, water and snow effects.

“VR is extremely crazy with how creative it can be,” Roble said. “We have serious stuff where there’s jumpscares, and there’s always stuff that’s kid-oriented. It’s crazy. It just takes you into a completely different world.”

Roble and Ament are setting lofty goals for themselves.

“I just hope this is going to be successful,” Ament said. “So far it has been. We’re hoping to be No. 1 in the business.”