Zero Latency VR Marks Halloween Double Anniversary With Fear Research
Zero Latency VR is celebrating a double Halloween anniversary: three years since the launch of its free-roam zombie survival shooter Outbreak, and one year since the debut of its immersive haunted house experience, Haunted. The company marked the occasion by reaching out to Dr. Coltan Scrivner, a research scientist at Arizona State University who studies recreational fear and morbid curiosity.
Between Outbreak and Haunted, Halloween has become the busiest season for Zero Latency venues worldwide. To understand why players willingly pay to be frightened, the network consulted Scrivner, whose academic work explores why humans seek out frightening experiences for enjoyment. Scrivner authored the book Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can’t Look Away and has been featured across outlets including The New York Times, CNN, The Economist, NPR, and Scientific American.
The Science of Recreational Fear in Immersive Environments
According to Dr. Coltan Scrivner, humans are biologically wired to play with things that frighten them as a method for regulating fear and anxiety. Free-roam virtual reality provides a unique platform for this psychological phenomenon because it maintains a safe frame while simulating intense stress.
Humans are built to play with the things that frighten us,
Scrivner said. It’s a great way for us to learn how to better regulate our fear and anxiety. One of the best ways to learn how you and your friends react in stressful situations is to simulate a stressful situation, and immersive VR is unmatched in its ability to safely invoke fear while maintaining a playful psychological frame.
Scrivner noted that free-roam VR differs fundamentally from traditional horror formats by blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality. After experiencing the company’s lineup, he stated that he had never encountered horror games as immersive or entertaining as Haunted and Outbreak.
Executive Perspective on Eleven Years of Jump Scares
Tim Ruse, CEO of Zero Latency VR, stated that the company has spent over a decade refining the mechanics of the jump scare.
We’ve had over eleven years to perfect the jump scare, and it turns out you can’t fake it. The science backs it up,
Ruse said. If you’re not leaving Outbreak with a slightly elevated heart rate, or leaving Haunted a little rattled, we haven’t done our job. It’s nice to finally have someone with a PhD confirm that’s a good thing.
To capitalize on the anniversary and the Halloween season, Zero Latency is running two special double-features across its global network. Guests can pair Haunted with Undead Arena, a post-apocalyptic zombie shooter game show, or combine Outbreak with Outbreak 2: Mall Mayhem, for an hour-long survival session.
Zero Latency Appoints Manager to Support Global Venue Network
Last month, Zero Latency announced the appointment of Brett Bovio as senior venue success manager to lead Venue Success, a newly established international support function designed to assist its global network of venues.
The network’s combination of three-year-old survival shooters and haunted attractions continues to drive seasonal demand across international locations, supported by ongoing operational expansions through its venue success division.
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