Varun S is in mid air in a hot-air balloon, which could explode any moment. He needs to walk to safety across a wooden plank connected to another hot-air balloon. As someone who is afraid of heights, he is scared and desperate.

When things get too much for him, he just takes off the virtual reality gear to breathe.

The VR game, ‘Balloon Terror’, was developed by Chennai-based start-up Kaleidozone.

Murali Barathi, co-founder, said: “Virtual reality is not theory any more. It is now used in various applications across the world — right from healthcare industry to entertainment. But in India, it is just catching up.

“In India, we have noticed that though the market is ready for such technology, there are hardly few players who produce quality VR games.”

The company designs, produces and distributes VR games across the country, and is working on four categories of VR games. First category is rides like roller-coasters where the user experiences the thrill of a ride; the other three categories — e-sports, role-playing and free roaming — are for gamers.

Barathi said the company has already developed and deployed e-sports. Role-playing games — where multiple players can assume roles and complete — and free-roaming — where players roam freely inside places such as Taj Mahal or a tomb in Egypt — are under development.

The company is targeting service centres and salons, which look to provide games as an add-on service to clients,airports, cinemas andmalls.

Currently, the company has an arcade in Chennai and a lounge in Bengaluru, and is seeing a lot of takers, especially corporates that use games for team-building exercises. It is in talks with interested stakeholders in a number of cities.

The company’s major source of income is deployment that may range from ₹4 lakh to ₹25 lakh for a given location. It is hoping to raise a funding of ₹6 crore for expansion.

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