Ken Bretschneider: The Man Building a State-of-the-Art Virtual Reality Theme Park for Every Major U.S. City

The Void

Technology has not only given mankind unprecedented breakthroughs in the worlds of science, communications, and medicine, but in the world of entertainment as well. From incredible video games to CGI used in Hollywood movies, technology has been providing us with hours of entertainment ever since the days of Pong. As computers and technology become more advanced, technological achievements are made almost every day. Now the new and hip thing is virtual reality. It’s been around for a long time, however we now have the capabilities to mass produce these devices. Virtual reality goggles like the Oculus Rift have taken video games to unprecedented heights. Now it seems like this technology will leave our living rooms and head over into the world of theme parks. At least, that is what Ken Bretschneider wants to do.

Ken Bretschneider is an American businessman and entrepreneur that has ties to many different companies, namely DigiCert. After working with that company for many years, he sold it off for an undisclosed amount to pursue his real dream: virtual realty amusement parks. Now he has established a new company, Vision of Infinite Dimensions (Void), where he resides as CEO. Their main goal is to mass produce virtual realty systems and set up theme parks that are solely dedicated to virtual reality. Roller coasters and ferris wheels can only offer us so much in terms of entertainment, and the next frontier of amusement parks seems to be within the world of virtual reality. And it may be here closer than you think.

Bretschneider and his company are working tirelessly to bring the world the first virtual reality theme parks. They are working to combine the real world with that of the virtual world to deliver an experience that is unlike anything that has ever been seen before. He has personally been spending million of dollars of his own money to establish these parks, and the first one will likely open up its doors in Salt Lake City sometime next year. So what are they and what do they do?

Essentially these parks will be like something from Tron. Guests will strap on a full-body suit, smart gloves, and a virtual reality helmet that will completely immerse them in the virtual environment. The system will be set up in a large, open room that has physical walls and barriers. Without the suit, this area might just look like a boring maze or laser tag arena. However with the suit, the room will be transformed into a medieval battlefield or an alien spaceship. Bretschneider says “in our world, we can create anything you can imagine” and the parks will be able to offer a variety of different experiences. From exploring the prehistoric world to fighting other combatants in a fictional, virtual battlefield, nothing is off limits with what The Void can bring. A seemingly innocent looking arch made from concrete that is housed in one of their parks can be transformed into the gates of a medieval castle, for example.

This technology opens up an entirely new realm of what is potentially possible. Instead of theme parks building a massive infrastructure that looks like the world of Harry Potter, for example, these parks will just theoretically need to construct one large space that serves as a blank canvas.

Ken Bretschneider and his company are looking to essentially create this industry themselves, as there aren’t currently any real competitors. Their long-term goals revolve around opening a park in nearly every major city in the United States. After the Salt Lake City location opens, they will then plan to expand to key US cities like Los Angeles and New York. From there, the sky is the limit. Additionally what makes this dream feasible, is that you don’t need to develop a massive infrastructure to house these parks (although you theoretically could). Places like Disney World take up massive amounts of land, but an entire virtual reality park could potentially be housed in a small warehouse-like building, for example.

It seems like there is an infinite amount of potential with what The Void hopes to accomplish. We are now at a point in our history where things like this are actually possible. It will be interesting to see the first park open up next year and to get a look at what it’s like. If they can actually afford this massive project and can supply the technology that is needed, I can’t see any reason as to why this wouldn’t be successful. I for one, would love the opportunity to play in a virtual reality world like Halo or something. While we don’t have all the details on the project just now, The Void has released a teaser film of what they can potentially bring to the table of virtual entertainment:

Photo from The Void

Written by Sebastian Hensiek

From Philadelphia, Sebastian is a fan of music, writing, art, and entertainment.