Talking Business: Step into the virtual world at Electric Dreams | Local Business

Over the weekend, local Jack Pike opened Electric Dreams, a brightly-colored virtual reality arcade located at 1134 Washington Way next door to the Union Square bar.

The arcade uses virtual reality headsets made by Oculus that allow gamers to go beyond a standard TV screen.

The main area at Electric Dreams is set up for two to six players to take part in team-based arena games where a group of players can fight off hordes of zombies, protect themselves from alien invaders or put on their ghost-busting caps and rid a mansion of spirits.

There are also player-versus-player games that pit two gamers against each other where they can find their weaponry and go to battle against each other.

The arcade has separate single player gaming booths for those who want to go it alone. The single player area utilizes a different set of games than the arena, most of them coming from the gaming platform Steam.

Each player is outfitted with a haptic vest that vibrates when video-game creatures make contact with a player, providing tangible feedback to take another step closer to reality.

Electric Dreams itself actually fulfills a dream for Pike, who’s combining his passions in opening the arcade.

“I graduated from LCC with an associate’s in business, so that’s always been my passion, is business,” Pike said. “And I’ve always loved video games. … I’ve always been into electronics. This is just a combination of both, and I can chase both dreams at the same time.”

Growing up in the Longview-Kelso area and attending both Kelso and RA Long high schools, Pike is aware of the lack of entertainment options for locals, especially those under 21.

“On top of that I get to help kids, I get to help the town,” Pike said. “There’s not much around here for anybody to do really. There’s no entertainment. There’s a bowling alley and not much (else).”

Pike hopes Electric Dreams can fix that and provide opportunities for patrons young and old to get their hands on some of the newest gaming tech.

The arcade is open to anyone age 13 and up. Rates start at $15 an hour for single player booths. The arena costs $25 per hour before noon, and bumps up to $30 an hour from noon to 8 pm

Pike is also willing to open the shop at any hour to those with different schedules, with bookings after 8 pm costing $45.

“They could book any hour and I’ll come in and let them play because I want night-shift people to come in and those people that don’t have anything to do at 2 am, they can swing in,” Pike said.

In addition to hourly rates, Pike offers a $250 party package where gamers can rent out all eight headsets and vests for a two-hour time block.

With time, Pike hopes the space can expand as Electric Dreams’ player base grows.

Pike understands that VR gaming is new territory, even unfamiliar to those who are up to date with the current status of the gaming world, so he welcomes anybody that wants to come in, test things out and ask questions.

“Come try it out,” Pike said. “VR is new to a lot of people, they haven’t experienced it, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction as far as gaming. We’ve got to stop depending on a TV for everything and actually start moving in gaming and not just using our thumbs.”