On balmy summer days, Montreal’s Old Port offers much to stimulate the senses. Along the length of St. Paul street, excellent cozy restaurants alternate with boutiques offering paintings, sculptures and high end handicrafts in centuries-old stone houses, initially built to cater to commerce typical of a sea port. Sightseers and tourists, cameras in hand, stroll everywhere, in an orderly, leisurely fashion. A multitude of languages can be heard but “Franglais” stands out, Montreal-style, two sentences in French followed by one in English, with “Joual" reserved for drivers of horse-drawn caleches and cobblestone street repair crews. Tabarnac!
In the midst of all this, disguised by a non-descript entrance, is a small exposition hall referred to as Phi Centre. Phi, the “multidisciplinary arts and culture organization” operating this hall, is currently hosting an exposition by Lucid Realities, unfortunately due to end on December 16, 2017. The exposition, which is well worth attending, showcases various technologies involving “virtual reality” (VR).
The expo consists of a dozen installations. Most of them require the visitor to wear a pair of VR goggles and headsets which block out surrounding distractions. Each installation lasts around 10 minutes. Most are solitary experiences, but a couple of them let you interact with other players.
Your brain enters a computer-generated universe, which can range from violent to delightfully whimsical. There is a relatively modest amount of interaction within many programs, such as by the movement of your hands and fingers (gripping handles and pressing swithes). With a few exceptions (e.g. “Tree”), the technologies showcased are not fully mature, with occasional computer glitches and steep learning curves for controls, but I found it to be a fascinating glimpse into what is in store for us in the near future. And entertaining as well, for adults.
If this interests you, plan to spend three hours here. As soon as you enter the sparsely furnished premises, put yourself down on the waiting list for “Tree”, “Spacewalk”, “Life of Us” and “Flock”, the last one preferably in the company of one or two friends. The first two, especially, are popular, the award-winning “Tree” being quite exceptional, not to be missed. “Flock” could form a delightful ending to your visit. The wait between installations can be filled in with other installations which are free at the moment. Sofas are available, and VR-goggled visitors waving their arms in the air provide intermission entertainment. The $25 ticket for it all is valid for the whole day, so you can duck out for refreshments and return when suitably fortified.
