Virtual environments

We have developed several different virtual worlds and games for use with our Virtual Reality bicycle installations, both independently and by commission.

Rondje Utrecht
The Rondje Utrecht game is an interactive version of Utrecht where students need to bike around to pick up and recycle plastic waste as quick as possible, while avoiding breaking any road rules or hitting any of the sausage people biking and walking around. Rondje Utrecht is a Commission for De Fietsmeesters. The virtual environment is used with the updated Tour de VRance installation, and during the Covid-19 closure of the schools was also adapted to be able to be played online.

SlimCity
SlimCity is a proof of concept for an interactive way to get citizens involved in the decision making about urban planning in their neighbourhoods. An interactive bike ride takes users along a path of planned road works and new construction, and gives them a chance to choose and see how their local area might change. The installation was set up so it could aslo be used to gather data about the choices users made, making it an innovative interactive questionnaire system for local government. We created a new VR cargobike installation that was taken to local discussions about the planned roadworks and placed at Utrecht City Hall for visitors to try.

Klaar voor de winter
Klaar voor de winter (Ready for winter) is an educational program which teaches children about the kind of obstacles and weather conditions they may encounter on their bicycle trip to school in the winter. In the game kids have to follow a trail of ice crystals to collect points, with points being subtracted for crashing into obstacles or breaking traffic rules. Klaar voor de winter was a Commission for Harten voor Sport. The virtual environment is used with the original Tour de VRance installation.

Nedereindseberg Nieuwegein
We made a virtual version of bicycle park ‘De Nedereindse Berg’ in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands. The goal of the game is to bicycle along the bike course in the quickest time. It is used to get children excited about biking as a sport, and as a promotional tool for the bike park. The environment was a Commission for Bikepark De Nedereindse Berg. The virtual environment is used with the original Tour de VRance installation.

Tour de VRance
The Tour de VRance installation was part of Harten voor Sport’s school program in the run up to the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Utrecht 2015. We created a downhill time trial course through the alps, in which kids could compete to see who could get the fastest time racing to the finish down in the valley. The installation went to schools throughout the Netherlands to get kids excited about the Tour de France, cycling and exercise. More about the project can be found here.

Citytrip 1984
This dark city environment we made specially for the Bring Your Own Beamer festival of 2014 in Utrecht. The festival had the theme ‘Eyes everywhere’, and in our city there are literally eyes everywhere. You can peddle around on the Citytrip bike installation, and you are constantly being watched by eyes on billboards, eyes as camera poles and big floating eyeballs in the sky that follow you through the foggy streets. More about Citytrip can be found on the Citytrip project page.

Citytrip
With Citytrip you can explore a fantastical, alien city by riding a bike. By pedalling and steering you navigate through the virtual reality as if you are really there. Fly through the air by pedalling like mad and hitting the ramps, or use the bicycle bell to jump from building to building. Explore the city on the ground or navigate the twisting aerial pathways and cycle along the top floors of skyscrapers. Set your own goals, create your own challenges and have fun! More about Citytrip can be found on the Citytrip project page.