Opening in Brick Lane, in the city’s East End, near the thriving tech hub of Hoxton, Chaos Karts will offer electric go karts, which will race around virtual tracks, beamed onto a 20,000 square foot floor, offering an infinite number of tracks.
However, the augmentation doesn’t end there. As they race, drivers will be able to collect jewels, power-ups and weapons, including bombs and lasers, from around the track, to use against their opponents, while the high tech karts will provide haptic feedback, vibrating, rumbling and shaking in response to the track, weapons strikes, etc.
With all obstacles being digital, the organisers claim the experience is safer than traditional karting tracks. The karts also boast anti-collision technology, which cut the power before drivers smash into each other. All of which means drivers can race without the helmets and overalls required at regular kart tracks.
Tom Lionetti-Maguire, the founder of Chaos Karts, said:
Creating a real-life version of a videogame has been an obsession for some time and we are delighted to have cracked it. We got it to the proof-of-concept stage at the end of last year and we were offered the money straight away. It is a video game turned into real life – there really is nothing else like it.
This makes normal go karting look like the Flintstones. Every time you play it, the adrenaline, the pure elation of it… it still surprises me every time. As it is played in small groups, it is Covid compliant. So it is perfect to open in these conditions. I think of it as the phoenix from the ashes. It is proof that going out is coming back to London.
Booking for Chaos Karts is open now.
Brian has been working in the games industry since the mid-1990s, when he joined the legendary studio DMA Design, as a writer on the original Grand Theft Auto. Since then he's worked with major publishers, founded his own digital agency, and the Scottish Games Network. At various times he's worked as a journalist, editor, narrative designer, lecturer, executive producer, and director.
