SEGA unveils massive ‘House of the Dead’ VR attraction for arcades
Something is reawakening at IAAPA Expo. SEGA Amusements is teasing the Orlando debut of “House of the Dead: Reawakened,” an elaborate new two-player VR experience built inside a Gothic manor complete with doors and windows that spring to life.
The reveal comes 30 years after the original “The House of the Dead” debuted in Japanese arcades in 1996. Developed by SEGA AM1, the horror shooter was designed for an adult audience, sending players armed with light guns through a mansion overrun by undead creatures.
Three decades later, SEGA is bringing that arcade formula into virtual reality with an attraction designed to become a centerpiece for modern arcades and family entertainment centers.
An attraction-worthy game
SEGA has essentially built a miniature themed façade around the game. The cabinet is designed as a Gothic manor, with an 85-inch display functioning as its front door and two 43-inch vertical displays serving as shuttered windows.
The shutters and front door create a jump-scare reveal and exposing the VR play area. Animated lighting, a working clock tower and environmental audio add to the show. SEGA itself describes the installation as an “anchor attraction” intended to draw attention across an arcade or family entertainment center.
Once inside, two guests can play cooperatively using commercial VR headsets and haptic-recoil weapon controllers, with individual 2.1-channel audio systems.
The game has three missions and was built in Unreal Engine 5. The enclosure also creates a distinction between the spectator experience outside the manor and the VR experience happening inside it.
Unreal Engine 5 is already powering theme park attractions
“House of the Dead: Reawakened” runs on Unreal Engine 5, the same game-development technology increasingly being used to create interactive and immersive theme park experiences.
Disney uses Unreal Engine 5 for the new “The Mandalorian and Grogu” missions aboard Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The technology renders environments in real time, allowing what guests see to respond to their actions.
Unreal Engine 5 has also made its way into other location-based attractions. Mousetrappe used the engine to create the media for Hypersphere 360 at SeaWorld Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, while Triotech uses it for the interactive Super Blaster attraction.
SEGA has experience with the technology as well: its Alpha Ops VR Strike uses Unreal Engine 5 for an attendant-free VR experience. “Reawakened” brings that technology to one of SEGA’s best-known arcade franchises while surrounding the virtual experience with a substantial physical set.
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