To the right of the image large white text reads "Marketing Mucks About in the Gaming Hideaway". It sits on a photo background of three men sitting in a row with their backs to the camera playing FIFA on flat screen TVs in a dark room illuminated by neon light and decorated with fluorescent paint. In the bottom left of the image is a circular photo of a young woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing a VR headset and behind. She is standing in the same dark room as the men. The selfie is framed by a dark blue circular border.

We’d tested ourselves physically (Tees Barrage Air Trail); we’d tested ourselves mentally (Cluedini Hex Escape Room); so this time, we, the PASS Marketing team, decided to take on a more sedate team-building challenge. That’s why on the 26th June we headed to Gaming Hideaway in Thornaby for two hours of video and virtual-reality games. What could go wrong?

Three men sit in a row with their backs to the camera. The men are arranged from left to right: Stacey, Marc, Mat. They are in a dark room illuminated by neon light and decorated with fluorescent paint. All are sat in comfy gaming chairs and playing FIFA on flat screen TVs.
From left to right: Stacey, Marc, & Mat play FIFA

Looking forward to whiling away the time playing a variety of PlayStation, Xbox, and virtual-reality games; drinking free Tango ice blasts; and eating free hot dogs/cheese toasties, little did we know how adrenaline-pumping and disorientating the afternoon was about to be!

Tentatively, we entered a dark room decorated with fluorescent paint and lined with TVs and consoles. Unsure what to do with our freedom to play, liberty that would have come naturally to our ten-year-old selves, we cautiously began testing out the much-talked-about VR. It was a fun but unsteadying experience, to say the least. The lurching motions of Formula 1 and high-octane rollercoaster simulations left us staggering off the equipment, nauseous but exhilarated. Now our childhood selves had taken over. Now we were ready to play!

In a dark room illuminated by neon lighting, Stuart, a man wearing a white t-shirt, is sitting in a VR racing car and wearing a VR headset.
Stuart tries out Formula 1 VR racing

We spent the rest of the session indulging our nostalgia, playing FIFA, non-VR racing games, and, in my case, Crash Bandicoot: Warped. Shortly before the end, we dragged ourselves away to finish our food and put our shoes back on like the professional, grown-ups we are! I think it’s safe to say that a fun team-building experience was had by all.

"Enjoyed playing on the consoles, VR was a bit weird but still fun."

Stuart Dawson, Product Data Entry Administrator

"I think it's safe to say that VR is not for me. However, once I found the Frozen candycrush-esque and Crash Bandicoot games, which are much more my speed, my ten-year-old self and I had a very enjoyable time."

Jess Wright, Content Editor

"Tried a VR rollercoaster... check, felt unwell... check. Fun times?... Check"

Stacey Conroy, Web Developer
Three men sit in comfy gaming chairs in a dark room with neon lighting and decorated with graffiti-esque murals painted in glow-in-the-dark paint. The men are arranged in a line going away from the camera; from front to back: Stacey, Marc, Mat. In front of them are flat-screen TVs. All are playing FIFA.
Front to back: Stacey, Marc, & Mat are playing FIFA (still)

"I was excited to try out the VR headsets, so jumped straight onto the Titanic, that was pretty tame, so with inflated confidence, I dived on a rollercoaster. Then I crashed a Formula 1 racing car into a barrier lost all my balance and got travel sick.

My highlight was discovering Fall Guys Ultimate Knockout – that was such a fun game!"

Katie Ludgate, Marketing Manager

"Had great fun playing with/against real live friends."

Marc Armsby, Software Development Manager

"Great team-building exercise. Got totally battered by Marc on FIFA. Need to up my game for next time."

Mathew Callingham, Media Producer

“The place is a teenage boy's dream, I think a lot of it was wasted on me and VR made me feel sick…I guess it's a sign of my age. I think, however, I really enjoyed playing the car racing game…not that I raced...I spent more time crashing and being stuck in reverse!"

Rachael Ellis, Graphic Designer
Rachael, a young woman with shoulder-length hair, stands in the middle of a neon illuminated dark room. She is wearing a VR headset and behind and above her is a flat screen TV showing a scene from the VR game.
Rachael tries out one of the standing VR games