ST. THOMAS — What game do you indulge in? Super Mario Brothers? Minecraft? Beat Saber? Whatever platform you enjoy, whether Nintendo or virtual reality, the Rock City Virtual Reality Game Truck has just the program for you to enjoy your party or event, with four game stations, two race car simulators and an aircraft simulator to satisfy any gamer.
“At each station you can be playing a different system at any given time and each station has the capability to run two systems at a time, so one person could be playing with PlayStation virtual reality and somebody could be playing X Box at the same time,” said co-owner Arnelle Comissiong.
Comissiong is a full-time nurse at Schneider Regional Medical Center. She and her husband, Dr. Gilbert Comissiong, bought the truck last year, but the business was delayed because of COVID-19 lockdowns.
The idea came after the Comissiongs, with their two children, Gilbert and Alexa, went on a family cruise. The ship had a virtual reality game room and the kids loved it. After their return, their son asked every day when they were going back.
“I thought that would be something so cool, because if my son fell in love with it, I’m pretty sure other kids would enjoy it as well,” she said.
Realizing there was nothing like it on island, the Comissiongs looked into acquiring a standalone building to open a virtual reality gaming business, but the rents were so high and electricity so expensive, they thought they would “be in a hole before we even got out of the gate.”
Researching online, the Comissiongs found a company in California that builds 30-foot game trucks, Virtual Reality Game Truck. After discussions with the owner, they decided to make the substantial investment in a truck of their own, built to their own specs, which included two race car simulators rather than the usual one. Dr. Comissiong flew to California for some training on how to drive the truck, and they had the 30-foot unit shipped down to St. Thomas.
The truck arrived in February 2020, just before COVID-19 made it to the Virgin Islands. They waited out the first, and then the second, lockdown.
“We didn’t get to do anything because COVID hit, and so we decided to just wait and see what’s going on,” Comissiong said. “We put out some money and we have not been able to recoup any yet, but after the second lockdown, our numbers have been good, at 2 percent or 1 percent infectious rate.
“We decided to start advertising it and pushing it and doing small events, but observe all the COVID protocols. Let’s start getting back some of the money on our investment. At least if we’re doing little things out there, we get our name out there, so hopefully when COVID is gone, people will know us.”
Because of their medical backgrounds, the Comissiongs know how to follow all the safety protocols. They take temperatures, use sanitizers, require masks and limit the number of gamers to 12 instead of the 24 the truck can accommodate. Larger groups can be rotated, so everyone gets a chance to play safely. The virtual reality headsets come with a disposable mask that goes under the headset, so there is no skin-to-skin contact.
The game truck is equipped with Nintendo Switch, X Box 360, X Box One, Wii U, PlayStation 4 systems, virtual reality headsets, motion controller pairs and motion guns. It is available for birthday parties, teen parties, gaming tournaments, corporate events, school events, fundraisers and even senior citizen events. It is air conditioned, boasts 50-inch TVs and is handicapped accessible with a ramp.
“I market to all ages and all backgrounds because anybody can enjoy some fun in their lives. I don’t try to limit it to just kids. When we were in the states looking at the truck, they were taking it to senior citizen centers who rent the truck for the day, and the residents really enjoy it. I want to get everybody to have some fun or just experience it. There’s no age limit.”
By next year, Comissiong would like to tap into local schools to use the virtual reality headsets she already has in stock for educational purposes and make learning about subjects such as history and science more fun.
“We’re two locals just trying to have another avenue for kids because we see our son looking for things to do, especially not being in school, and we figured this is something the whole family can enjoy,” she said.
For more information or a quote, call 340-474-0335 or visit www.rockcityvirtualrealitygametruck.com.
