How to Create a Realistic & Entertaining Hot Air Or Gas Balloon VR Experience?

We’re kicking off Balloon Fiesta in style! Join Spatial Computing and the Mirehaven VR Club at the Albuquerque Balloon Museum for the Virtual Reality Balloon Experience.

We’ll anchor our discussion in the Balloon Museum’s VR Balloon Experience and then push further:

• How would you design an engaging VR hot air balloon or gas balloon sim?
• What’s the balance between accuracy (physics, visuals, history) and fun?
• Which tools—AI image generation, 360° workflows, Unity/Unreal—make the most sense?

As a case study, here is my The White Silence, a proof-of-concept 360° radioplay about the 1897 Andrée expedition (YouTube link). It has image glitches, continuity issues, and plenty of room for improvement, but it also demonstrates a pipeline from concept to immersive prototype... of a sort.

The Balloon Museum has an excellent exhibit about Andrée's attempt to reach the North Pole via balloon.

Are you on VRChat? That image of the New Mexico balloon floating over the Sandias, looking down on Albuquerque? Feel free to visit!

Running in parallel, our 3D Immersive Arts sibling will be debating the storytelling aspect of balloon VR.

How Three Meetups All Fit Together

• 2–3 PM: VR New Mexico: experience VR ballooning as a fan and user.
• 3–4 PM (two parallel paths, er, conversational clumps...):
• 3D Immersive Arts NM: explore storytelling, performance, and artistic immersion.
• Spatial Computing: tackle technical design and development challenges.

See the end of the VR New Mexico event description to find an inspiring and/or daunting list of relevant examples of VR games and experiences.

There is a modest fee to enter the Balloon Museum. The VR Balloon Experience is included in this fee. Before and after your VR experience, be sure to visit the many other exhibits at the Balloon Museum.