Arya Stark Panics Inside Oculus Rift's 4D 'Game of Thrones' Experience

AUSTIN, Texas — Revenge is on Arya Stark's young mind in Game of Thrones' forthcoming fourth season as she seeks justice for the bloody event known as the Red Wedding, but at South by Southwest she's merely trying to control her emotions at the GoT virtual-reality experience.

After putting on the Oculus Rift gaming headset, Arya (played by 16-year-old Maisie Williams) was transported into a 4D "Ascend the Wall" environment in which an elevator shaft brought her to the top of the fictional land of Westeros' 700-foot ice wall. Not fond of heights, she panicked and screamed, as evidenced in the Instagram video below.



The Wall protects the Seven Kingdoms in the show, though on this day it did little to keep Arya or any of the Oculus Rift's other users alive. I explain the experience, which included "4D" elements like wind and vibrations, in the video below while sitting on the Iron Throne inside the GoT exhibit inside Austin Music Hall.



HBO's installation incorporated CGI elements from visual FX company Framestore, sending users into the GoT world for a few minutes, all while Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor on the show, provided music as DJ to the rest of the exhibit's attendees.

Mashable caught up with Williams, Nairn and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) to discuss the experience and the upcoming season, which premieres April 6.



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