WORDS: OKTOVAN TITO

YOUR BUDGET TICKET INTO VIRTUAL REALITY.

Given the brouhaha over the Virtual Reality (VR) headsets that are hitting the market, many of us can only dream of getting their hands on this technology, since the most sought-after VR goggles, Oculus Rift, are projected to cost around Rp 5 million.

However, Google has a solution that can turn your dreams of exploring the Matrix into reality. Google Cardboard, a low-cost, user-assembled VR headset, uses your smartphone to produce an experience that rivals the Oculus Rift at a fraction of the cost. While the goggles are not as immersive as higher-end VR headsets, they are an easy introduction to the VR world. Cardboard goggles can be found for as little as Rp. 90,000.

And yes. They are actually made of cardboard. Once you get your Cardboard assembled, which takes just a few minutes with no special equipment required, just visit the Google Play or Apple App Store to download some VR apps for your smartphone. Most of the apps are free '€“ and here are a few of our favorites to get you started.

The Ride of Your Life

Okay, not really. But with the Dive City Coaster app, you'€™ll be able to take yourself on an exhilarating rollercoaster ride through the city of Dubai. Although the graphics are mediocre, the thrill certainly makes up for it. You'€™ll feel that you'€™re passing the turns and corners '€“ and your stomach will feel those ups and downs '€“ before you'€™re back to where you started. And before you even know it, the ride restarts itself. Android iOS

Downloading Reality

Coupled with Cardboard, the VRSE app allows you to watch real-world videos in great detail. It'€™s geared toward storytelling, offering you a chance to experience short documentaries such as the awardwinning Clouds Over Sidra, which documents life in a refugee camp in Jordan. Given the breathtaking realism of the videos, you'€™ll defi nitely enjoy the immersive experience this app offers. Android iOS

Vicarious Exploration

With Google Cardboard, the Street View app is more than just pretty pictures stitched together to offer a quasi-touristy experience. It offers something else: The world! Through the lenses of the headset, you can see wonders across the globe, whether it'€™s the Great Barrier Reef or the Great Pyramids at Giza. With your hands free and your head liberated, you'€™ll be able to wander about the planet. Android iOS

Nightmare Fuel

If you are a horror movie junkie, then the Insidious VR is the perfect app for you. You'€™ll fi nd yourself in a scene from the movie Insidious: Chapter 3, seated with a medium who is trying to fend a spirit away. Suddenly, plates crash and the room turns dark. The light comes back and prepare yourself for what is about to come next! A gut-wrenching experience, the app is sure to cause some jumps. It defi nitely got me once. Make sure to wear your headphones! Android

Virtual Movie Theater

YouTube has begun adding VR-enabled videos for an exclusive theater-like video-viewing experience. Just go to the YouTube app and open the #360Video homepage, where you'€™ll be able to browse through an array of VR videos, ranging from movie trailers to recorded performances in the MTV Video Music Awards. Once you'€™ve opened a video, tap the top-right button and select '€œCardboard'€, splitting the screen into two, letting you watch the video with your goggles.

The Final Frontier

In Titans of Space, you'€™ll be taken on a guided tour around our solar system and then onto a few nearby stars. You'€™ll be in awe when you see how gargantuan these celestial objects are. Zooming past Jupiter and its moons at faster-than-light speed, accompanied with a melodramatic orchestral music, you will have an experience that will keep you at the edge of your seat. Indeed, this is your cheapest ticket to space. Android

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