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Virtual Tours For The Video Game Set
June 25, 2007

The Hotel Indigo in Sarasota, Florida, has a new feature on its Web site that even a hardened video game player can find exciting. The hotel has partnered with Motion VR, a company (also conveniently based in Sarasota) that specializes in virtual tours to create a first-person property tour. Most people are already familiar with the concept of a 360-degree panoramic tour, which, while useful for conveying a property image, is basically little more than somebody pivoting in a circle with a camcorder. This is something else entirely.

The Sarasota Indigo feature is more like a video role playing game in the form of a walk-through of the property. It is such a convincing tour guide, in fact, that I actually found myself frustrated that I could not go anywhere I wanted on the property, that I was confined. I found myself wanting to see even more of the property, which means MotionVR and the hotel have done something right.

As this technology becomes more common—and it most certainly will—I expect future tours to be less flickering and more extensive. Additionally, I would guess that the page will not load with anything but a high-speed Internet connection. Nevertheless, it is pretty cool as it is.

Incidentally, check out the portion of the tour marked “Phi.” I got a good kick out of the ghostly waiter in the corner and the amusing stop-motion effect that makes the woman at the table look mildly insane.

Posted by Adam Kirby on June 25, 2007 | Comments (0)