Today we’d like to introduce you to Joan Treadaway.
Joan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
During the summer of 2017, Shane, his daughter Gillian and I were staying in Manhattan for six weeks. Shane suggested that we go check out the VR experiences in the lobby of an AMC Theater. We tried a few of the experiences, first, I walked a tightrope, that was pretty cool. Shane and Gill played “John Wick”, a first-person shooter, They loved it. Then they played “Raw Data” (futuristic Robot slaying game) together. After watching them, I played it and a VR addict was born! When we returned home to Dallas, we couldn’t find a place to play together. Aw man… Shane surprised me with an Oculus Rift for @ home and we couldn’t stop playing. But we still missed the social aspect – we wanted to be able to hang out and play with friends and family, like we did in Manhattan. So we thought – we should build that! We looked in Deep Ellum and when a couple of places fell through (zoning), we decided to locate Fixation VR in Hurst, near Shane’s PC Help business (built-in support – Score!!!).
Our initial “beta” location (will this concept work?!) was in the same strip mall and was 1800 sq feet. We had eight standing stations, four seated stations and a two-player free roam system. It took us six months longer than expected to build it out, with Shane and I doing all of the initial system configurations and trying to make it all work together (NOT EASY), while still maintaining our day jobs. We opened in late June of 2018. The space was tight, but we hosted individual and group players, birthday, bachelor and family parties, as well as team-building events. We also went mobile on multiple occasions (Let’s Play, Fan Boy, etc.). About 8-9 months after opening, we realized that we had to go bigger! We were really limited in the old space. So…. 5 doors down, we built out a 5000 sq ft, 20 station VR arcade with a variety of party offerings and opened July of 2019. We have hosted a 60+ person, 3 hours, “Sweet Sixteen” birthday party, numerous smaller parties and have increased our mobile capability to 10+ units (we brought six units to the Grapevine Aquatic’s Center’s Halloween Bash and ten units to the Grapevine Parks and Rec Fall Festival). Plus, now we offer mixed media – that’s right, you can see you (not your avatar) in the game! Still, pics and videos – how cool is that?
We are still working on social media presence, which Shane has dove into like a madman. I am working on re-design/re-write of our website, Gillian is pitching in with helping us out with a referral program app. There is still so much further to go in order to let people know we are here and that VR is incredible for all ages and all interests.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Location – we would have liked to have built out the space we built out in 2019, but Shane and I are self-funded so we did what we could handle at the time – the 1800 sq ft location. However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we ran into the next obstacle – technology. Being in the smaller location gave us more time to work out the kinks and not open earlier than we should.
Technology – getting all of the systems to work in the same space was a huge challenge with the technology available in 2017 and early 2018. We had all wired headsets, which meant we had to figure out good cable management so that people would not trip over the cables (kudos to Shane on this!). Also, at that time, one system did not like it if it could “see” the other system next to it. We went through many setups trying to get it right. And we’d get two working and then 3, and then the 4th system would be like, ummm I can see system 1, don’t like it so I’m shutting down! What???!!! It was crazy and frustrating, and honestly, a lot of fun. It was truly a technical challenge (that is now in our rearview mirror!). In the current Fixation arcade we are wireless and have newer technology, Much better!
Games/Experiences – not all are created equal and no one likes getting stuck in a wall (it’s kinda creepy). So we have to play every game (oh darn!) to ensure the frames are seamless and there are no major glitches. But we have a lot of content, so that is a lot of work. Also, constant updates even on stable games/experiences sometimes means we have issues. It’s a lot to keep up with, but our team does a great job. Cutting edge technology is fabulous, but it does come with challenges.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Fixation VR – what should we know?
Fixation VR is a Virtual Reality Arcade with 70+ experiences. Fixation offers experiences such as VR Escape rooms for both the individual and for groups. In the real world, no one is going to put you in a submarine that is leaking and make you dive for clues to get to the escape pod while the water rises. VR is so realistic that once water reaches the player’s lips, they start holding their breath! There are 1st person shooter games where you can slay zombies, robots, etc. There are experiences set in the past and in the future, or you can just get your beat on with Beat Saber – standing on a space platform, music blaring as the beat rush towards you and you slice and dice them with Light Sabers!!!! So cool, so competitive, so fun. And your friends/family can see what you see in the headset on the large, flat-screen tvs. Unless they are in another headset, playing with you, where you can see each other’s avatars and talk to each other to solve problems, defeat terrorism, wipe out zombies, or just play paintball.
Fixation VR offers individual pricing, party packages and the whole Arcade is available for large parties and team building events. From Bachelor/Bachelorette parties to Family-based and corporate events, we can help you plan a day or night that everyone will be talking about!
Fixation is BYOB and a great addition to anyone’s entertainment line up.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Shane’s team at PC-Help and FITS have been immensely supportive with the technology, security cameras and pitching in when we need it. Gillian, Shane’s daughter, always has good ideas about Social Media, and training ideas for the staff. Her working on the referral program app is also a huge bonus. Plus, she has come in on the weekends from UT when we were short-handed to help work events. Shane’s sister, Monica, and brother-in-law Kevin gave us some great ideas for the Arcade that we had just missed entirely. And total kudos to Phillip of Golden Care Repairs who did a lot of the renovation in the new Arcade – we love our new look.
Contact Info:
- Address: 538 W Harwood Road
Hurst, TX 76054 - Website: www.fixationvr.com
- Phone: 682-404-6445
- Email: info@fixationvr.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fixation_vr/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FixationVR/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fixation-vr-hurst
- Other: https://g.page/FixationVR?share
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