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VIRTUAL REALITY & NINTENDO SWITCH EXPERIENCES

Experience gaming with your family, friends, or activity group. 

Two exciting gaming opportunities are available at the Basement Creative Lab: VR and Nintendo Switch!

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:

  • Requests must be made at least one week in advance; please wait for a confirmation email from a library staff member before assuming your time is reserved.
  • Sessions cannot last any longer than two hours.
  • We do not accept gaming reservations for Saturdays. We understand that this may be frustrating, but we are choosing to leave that day open and available for those who need extended recording studio hours. 
  • If you are going to be more than 15 minutes late, please give the Creative Lab a call. As with studio sessions, after 15 minutes with no call/no show, the session may be cancelled. You can reach us at 801-852-6655.
  • These two experiences cannot be combined. You may either play VR or the Switch, not both during the same session.
  • Gaming sessions are hosted in the Basement Creative Lab, located in the west tunnel of the parking garage level (there's a giant mural on the wall--you can't miss it!)

     

VR Experience

The library has a pair of Oculus Quest 3 Virtual Reality headsets ready and waiting for you to come and experiment. Book an on-demand experience for your group and discover what virtual reality has to offer!

Thinking this may be an isolating experience? Though we only offer two headsets at a time, we have the ability to screencast to tablets (which can be viewed larger on a TV) so everyone in your group can see what's happening. 

The following is a sample list of apps currently available on the headsets (though there are plenty more):

GREAT FOR FIRST TIMERS:

  • First Steps - Tutorial of how to use VR, along with two mini-games.
  • National Geographic Explorer - Take pictures of either Machu Pichu or Antarctica and engage in kayaking and ice climbing.
  • Ocean Rift - Swim with a variety of oceanic life in a relaxing way and learn more about them.

POPULAR SOLO APPS:

  • Batman: Arkham Shadow - Become the world's greatest detective and solve the mystery of the Rat King. 
  • Beat Saber - Dance and chop blocks in rhythm to popular songs from bands like Imagine Dragons, Britney Spears, Queen and more.
  • Epic Roller Coaster - Ride in roller coasters, take pictures and participate in a shooting gallery. (WARNING: Not recommend for people/kids susceptible to motion sickness or fear of heights)
  • Fruit Ninja - Chop fruit with your swords and avoid the bombs, or pick a number of other modes, all involving some fruit dicing.
  • Job Simulator - Think a 9-5 job is boring? Think again when you're allowed to go nuts fixing cars, cooking food, running a store, or doing paperwork! Seriously, it's more fun than it sounds.
  • Richie's Plank Experience - Stand on a plank outside a skyscrapper, be a flying superhero putting out fires and defending a city against missiles or deliver presents as Santa. (WARNING: Not recommend for people/kids susceptible to motion sickness or fear of heights)
  • Star Wars: Vader Immortal - Use the Force and a lightsaber to battle against the Empire in a story driven experience on Mustafar, or step into the training arena with various droids.
  • Super Hot - Dodge bullets and obstacles to progress through challenging levels. Use guns, throwing stars, glass bottles, cameras, ashtrays, or anything else you can find.

MULTIPLAYER APPS:

  • Acron - Your family play as squirrels on phone/tablets and you try to defend yourself from them on the headset.
  • Blaston - Go head to head against computer players, or play with your friend in a one v one shootout duel in a cyberpunk world. Just remember: Never. Stay. Still.
  • Gorilla Tag - Channel your primate instincts and climb trees, hang out with friends, or play a number of more competitive modes like tag, paintbrawl or hunt. A great choice for something more relaxed. (WARNING: Not recommend for people/kids susceptible to motion sickness or fear of heights)
  • Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes - Defuse a bomb while your friends/family shout out the solution from a manual.
  • Walkabout: Mini Golf - Play some rounds of mini golf together or solo in a large range of courses like a pirate ship, haunted house or the moon.

Don't see what you want? Feel free to email us suggestions! Virtual reality is new for us, and we're still learning. 

To get an idea of what some of these games will look like, check out some of our tutorials:

VR Trailer

Beat Saber

Vader Immortal

Rec Room 

Nintendo Switch

 

The library has an original Nintendo Switch for you to play!

 

With 8 joy-cons, several games on offer, a large TV and some bean bags, you can book a session with us here at the Creative Lab. While we only have a limited selection of games at the moment, feel free to bring your own Switch Games, or check one out from our upstairs collection and bring it with you.

 
The following are the list of games we have available at the lab (we always looking for suggestions for new games to add):

  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Jump into the driver’s seat with more tracks, modes and features than ever before! Can be played solo or with up to 4 players on one console.
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Everyone is here! Mario, Link, Pikachu, Samus, Fox McCloud and a host of others are ready to fight it out in a variety of modes and maps. Can be played solo or with up to 8 players on one console.
  • Minecraft – Create anything you can imagine and explore the depths of infinite worlds. Find your own fun in the ultimate sandbox. Can be played solo or with up to 4 players on one console.
  • Kirby Star Allies – Celebrate one of Nintendo’s most beloved and cutest properties. Kirby is out to prevent a dark force from destroying the universe. Can be played solo or with up to 4 players on one console.
  • Lego Jurassic World – Enjoy Lego’s take on the first four films from the series. Play your favorite characters like Dr. Grant and Owen Grady, or pick your favorite dinosaur! Can be played solo or with another person on one console.
  • Sonic Frontiers – Scratch that Sonic itch like never before in a 3D experience that spans five massive islands. Can only be played Solo.
  • Ring Fit Adventure – Team up with a sentient ring and take down the evil dragon. Comes with accessories.

BOOK A VIRTUAL REALITY OR NINTENDO SWITCH SESSION


To book a gaming session, go to our room reservations page and select "The Basement Creative Lab", then select your desired date and time.


Indicate that you are interested in a VR or Nintendo Switch session; our staff will let you know if your request is approved or denied (requests are usually only denied if our staff is unavailable at your requested time). 


Please note: We do not accept VR or gaming reservations for Saturdays. We are making the choice to leave that day open for long recording sessions. 


  Request a gaming Session 

A NOTE ON VIRTUAL REALITY FOR KIDS: 

Kids love to try VR! We recommend VR sessions for children over 8. If you are interested in bringing children to your VR session, here are a few things you might need to keep in mind: 

  • VR goggles are heavy; kids under eight may have a hard time getting the goggles to fit correctly and may complain of head or neck strain while playing. 
  • VR is easiest to adapt to for kids who are already reading; as a parent, you can look at the screencast from your child's VR headset but it can still be difficult to help them navigate their world if they can't read on-screen instructions. 
  • If you're switching between family members, you need to know that the headset's virtual boundaries may need to be reset between each player. 
  • VR headsets can occasionally feel disorienting and may cause motion sickness. Sometimes our youngest players do get a little frightened of objects floating in the air around them.