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Show f 4 tit) i I t i i A & E December 7, 1993 Cyberspace: Utahs Ticket To Virtual Reality . Jason Russell Forum Staff Writer As the helmet slides over my head I am wondering what to expect Will it be like an experience? Will I have trouble coping with this new reality, where I am confronted by flying pterodactyls and deadly opponents? Recently, my sister and I visited Cyberspace, Utahs only virtual reality center. Virtual reality is a computer interactive experience that immerses players alternate reality. into a I was expecting an experience not unlike the one characters had in Lawnmover Man. I soon realized it was not going to be such a experience when they started strapping a heavy belt on my waist and a cumbersome helmet on my out-of-bo- dy three-dimension- al free-feeli- ng head. As the helmet came down over my eyes, I was suddenly in a strange place. Even though I saw where I was going on a screen and was instructed on how to get around before putting on the helmet, it is different when you are standing on the platform. I was uncomfortable at first and found myself lookingdown from the screen inside the helmet, trying to see something that could take me hack into reality. It didnt take long to overcome my apprehensions. As I started looking around and playing with the gun, I could see it move in front of me, as if it actually was my hand and part of my body. I believe I would have had a harder time if audio had been included in the experience. It was strange enough seeing an alternate reality, never mind hearing one. I especially would have cringed to hear the pterodactyl, who flies around looking for people to pick up and Forum drop to their death! After becoming comfortable with the controls and game objectives, we were ready to play. My objective was to blast my sister away every chance I got, and avoid falling off platforms and being picked up by the pterodactyl. Likewise, my sisters objective was to blast me to pieces, and avoid the pterodactyl and falling off the platforms. We both were able to sneak up on each other and blast the other into a million pieces. This was an experience in itself watching your opponents head fall off and roll around on the ground, especially if your opponents your sister. If the figure had looked like my sister, maybe I would have had more of a problem exploding her into a million pieces. She didnt have any trouble blasting me. In fact, I thought she was going to win, but it turned out that we tied. We both were caught by the pterodactyl and dropped to our deaths (kind of like watching yourself without a cord). bungee-jum- p Virtual reality is currently being used in the military for training fighter pilots. Other fields that are taking advantage of the technology are the medical and engineering fields. Whether you are building a complicated structure and want to be able to walk around inside of it before building it, or want to float inside of a human body and examine the heart and its intricacies in a perspective, virtual reality is the means to do it! You can have a virtual reality experience at Cyberspace for $5 per minute (minimum five minutes). It is located at 165 S. West Temple, just east of the Salt Palace. three-dimensio- Artists Studios Open For Holiday Shopping Kimberly Pfaff Forum Staff Writer London 215 Paris 249 Dublin 240 Costa Rica 295 Tokyo 340 New York 179 Fares are each way from Salt Lake City based on a roundtnp purchase. Taxes not included and restrictions apply. Some fares require student status. Seats may be limited so book early. Call for other worldwide destinations. I 1310 East 200 South Salt Lake City, ITT 841 02 The artists, galleries and specialty shops on West Pierpont Avenue are presenting the firstopen house in the ArtspaceNeigh-borhoo- d in three years. The artists studios and galleries will be open to the public the first three weekends in December for holiday shopping. The Artspace Neighborhood is a collection of artists studios, gallery space, and specialty antique and collectibles shops. During the open house, the public will be able to meet the artists in their studios and purchase items from many different styles and mediums. The open house includes artists working in ceramics, photography, painting, printmaking, illustration, graphic design and metal sculpture. Participating artists are Andrea Martin, Dean Petaja, Lynn Bright, Dennis Mecham, Kerri Buxton, Chris Pfeiffer, Jay Borowczyk, Kim Martinez, John Cook, Diane Douglas, Kamyar Esmaeli and Lori Mehan. The stores participating are Country Collectibles, Elemente, Ec.Lec.tic and Art Access Gallery. The open house will run Dec. 1 1,12,18, and 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ArtspaceNeighborhood is locatedon West Pierpont Avenue (250 South) between 300 and 400 West. photo by Jason Bringard For a drug-fre- e trip, visit Utahs only virtual reality center. Cyberspace, at 165 S. West Temple. Olympiads May Visit The Wasatch Front For A Peek Brent Larson Forum Staff Writer Local efforts to host the Olympic Winter Games in Utah are heating up, as the time draws nearer for the decision makers to choose a site for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Salt Lake City is in the running, and a location is to be determined during an International Olympic Committee Session in Budapest, Hungary, in June 1995. Home of the U.S. Ski Team since 1973 and home of the United States Ski Association since 1988, Park City, Utah, has the most to gain in helping host such a colossal event. If Salt Lake City is chosen to host the games, the Park City area will be the site of a number of the Olympic competitions, including the slalom, giant slalom, bobsledluge, ski jump and freestyle events. With an average snowfall of 143 inches in town and 350 inches at the ski areas, the area is a natural site for any type of world winter sports competition. Construction is complete on the $35 million Winter Sports Park near Park City that houses ski jumping facilities and will eventually house a bobsledluge run. The ski jumping facilities opened January 1993. The facility is comprised of four Nordic jumps. Two are 65 and 90 meter competition jumps, and two are 1 8 and 38 meter training jumps. The facility also houses a freestyle jump, a 300 foot snowboard half-pip- e and a day lodge. Construction on the bobsledluge run is expected to begin in 1994-9The giant slalom and slalom races would be held at Deer Valley and the Park City Ski Area. Park West Ski Area would be the site for the freestyle competition, and down the road at the Utah Winter Sports Park, the ski jumping and bobsled luge events would take place. Last winter 100,000 jumps, many made by novice jumpers, were logged on the new ski jumping facilities at the Winter Sports Park. Any caliber of skier can on the 1 8 meter jump after be half-holesson. a The Winter Sports Park summer facilities include the 90 meter ski jump hill tMt is covered wi ih a high-tecporcelain 5. ski-jumpi- ng ur h, t t t 1 and the sophisticated, plastic mat landing hill. A unique freestyle aerial splash pool, with four aerial ramps, sends aerialists 50 feet into the air before landing in the splash pool. The pool is one of only three such facilities in the world and features the latest in technology. There are a variety of recreational activities available at Park City aside from your average downhill and cross country skiing. Some include snowmobiling, hotair ballooning and horse-draw-n sleigh rides. The areas winter fun is enhanced by the organization of such events as Americas Opening World Cup Races, the Sundance Film Festival, the Senators Ski Cup and the Snow Sculpture Winterfest. Incorporated in 1884, Park City is a unique blend of the old and new. Sixty-foof the towns buildings, many of which are located on Main Street, are listed on the National Historic Register. Today, Park City skiers spend $201 per day for lodging, food, lift tickets, ski rentals, entertainment and car rentals. The town is alive with tales from its spirited mining history and ski adventures on the slopes. One such story corties from Utahs prohibition days, when Park City mortician George Archer, kept locals supplied with liquor. Archer would drive his hearse to nearby Evanston, Wy., load-u- p with illegal whiskey, pull the shades and solemnly head back to his Park City funeral parlor. Local tavern owners would then replenish their supply by visiting Archers garage in the dark of night ParkCity wasnt withoutits During 1898, a major fire destroyed more than 200 businesses on Main Street. Eighteen months later, the city was rebuilt. Then, after Park City was labeled one of the greatest silver mining camps in the world, with enough ore to lastanother 100 years, falling mineral prices in the 1930s ended the boom. Enterprising Park City residents then began to turn their attention from the treasure in the mountains to the snow on the surrounding slopes. Ski jumpers from around the world started competing at Ecker Hill in 1930. It was 1946 whon the towns first ski area opened and in-ru- n ur set-back- Wu called Snow Park. s. |