Something I absolutely understood after experiencing the VR Park is that involving reality with a VR experience can lead to either great success or horrible failure. When the reality plays a part, either as a moving platform, physical walls, or wind effects, it can make the user feel immersed or completely disjointed. The reason for the drastic effect is solely related to the sync between the experience and the reality.
One of the roller coaster rides moved along in such a way that the flying through the sky felt real, this was because the center of gravity and the inertia moved as expected. In another movement-involved experience, there was slight lag between the video and the physical shakes which made the user absolutely understand that this was all fake. The last experience also had a storyline that was so incredibly unrealistic, which didn’t help with the immersion at all.
The sound was helpful in making an immersive experience as well. This worked because sound was used as a form of attention control; sound from behind or to the side would make the user move and thus involve them well in the story line. When sound was used in conjunction with some slight physical interaction from reality and a good storyline, such as in the maze game, the experience was enjoyable. Having some sound but not too much is an important factor as well. Some of the experience generated a mildly chaotic environment by having constant sound and movement involved, such as with the arcade shooter.
Ideally, an experience would draw you in with a strong story and then push you along with mild actions and developments. Some of the experiences didn’t involve a story and instead focused solely on the physical experience, such as falling from a tower or flying through the sky, but that made the user feel more like a passenger than a participant. Naturally all the different roles could be targeted but the most successful experiences all shared the active participant interest.