Their story has all the makings of many modern tech stories. Two self-funded friends in their early twenties coming together to provide a product and service most people probably don’t know exists.
EnvisionVR is a virtual reality cafe where customers can rent time to use virtual reality equipment to play through a number of games from the shop’s catalog of games.
Users put on a headset and use two wireless controllers to play and explore digital worlds. The headset gives users a 360-degree view of their virtual surroundings, and the controllers allow users to move in-game and perform other functions.
In one game, the user defends a castle from invaders using a bow and arrow. The user nocks and fires arrows with the controllers, using hand movements that mimic the real thing.
EnvisionVR mainly uses the HTC Vive system, Snelling said, because of its one-to-one ratio “room scale” technology. This feature gives users a more realistic point of view, with objects appearing where they would be theoretically inside the room, and allows users to move around freely, in contrast with setups where the user stands still or sits.
Snelling was introduced to the technology by a coworker.
“I’m not too big into gaming,” Snelling said. “But when I put on the HTC Vive, I was blown away.”
Snelling told his then-girlfriend, now fiancée, his latest idea. At first, she was hesitant to get on board. Months later, when Snelling had refined the idea and presented it to her once again, she told him he had to do it.
“When your girlfriend says do something, you do it,” he said.
His girlfriend’s interest in the technology convinced Snelling that virtual reality could appeal to everyone, not just gamers.
He then went to Tice, and the two began to form a business plan. They bought the equipment and performed demos for friends for two months.
“We did a bunch of demos out of my bedroom, which was creepy,” Snelling joked.
The two said they’ve come up with other plans in the past, but none that have panned out like EnvisionVR.
“We’ve made some terrible products together,” Snelling said. “People didn’t like those, and they weren’t afraid to tell us. With this, everybody thinks it’s great.”
“And they’re not all lying to us,” Tice added.
The two said that EnvisionVR is only the fifth business of its kind in the United States, and the first in the Southeast.
Once thought of as a tech demo novelty, virtual reality technology in recent years has come to be appreciated as a multipurpose tool with unlimited practical applications.
In 2015, the Auburn Tigers’ football coaching staff began using virtual reality technology in practice to help develop young quarterbacks.
For now, EnvisionVR’s main focus for virtual reality is gaming and entertainment. Snelling and Tice said they are open to using the virtual reality equipment in other ventures.
“There’s no limit to it,” Tice said. “As far as you can imagine, it can be applied to anything, like healthcare, military, entertainment, and daily life.”
Snelling and Tice described a local architect who stopped by EnvisionVR and imported a recent building design into the virtual reality equipment. The architect was able to “walk around” his design and fix problems he wasn’t able to see using conventional software.
The two said they plan on purchasing additional headsets and VR gear to expand the shop’s arsenal.
Snelling is also interested in developing virtual reality software in the future. For now, he said, he’s focusing on running the new shop.
EnvisionVR is located at 109 S. 8th St. in downtown Opelika and is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 1 to 10 p.m.
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