LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 00.01 BST, 10TH OCTOBER 2018 – In a world first, the creators of Vantablack, the super-black coating that holds the world record as the darkest substance made by man, have created the world’s darkest room ever to play Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4.  A special version of Vantablack known as VBx2 has been applied to every wall of a unique gaming space as part of a one-of-a-kind, architectural experience for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, launching globally on Friday, October 12th. Dubbed the Black Ops House, this unique space in which practically all natural light is absorbed, creates an optical effect of playing the game within an endless Blackout.

UK based Surrey Nanosystems developed Vantablack for use primarily in space applications due to its unique properties that absorbs 99.965% of natural light. The VBx2 coating, used to create the Black Ops House, was designed to reduce reflected light to such a level it becomes extremely difficult to discern any surface features on an object, making a three-dimensional object appear as a mesmerizing, two-dimensional black void.

Both the internal and external structure of the Black Ops House have been coated in the VBx2 coating. People entering the Black Ops House first walk down an unsettling 40 metre-long raised platform as they approach the structure, creating the sense of walking into a pitch-black void. Sliding doors open to reveal a PlayStationâ4 Pro and monitor, immersing the player in the unique gameplay experience.

Ben Jensen from Surrey Nanosystems said: “Since developing Vantablack we have had the opportunity to work with like-minded partners to deploy our coatings in new and imaginative ways. We’re all huge gamers and fans of Call of Duty so when Activision got in touch and we began discussing ideas, we couldn’t wait to bring the project to life.  This is the first time we’ve ever created a room that is completely covered in the VBx2 coating, so is the darkest man-made room ever created.  The future of entertainment is all about more and more immersive experiences. What could be more immersive than this?”

David Tyler, VP, Call of Duty, Activision, added: “Black Ops 4 delivers the deepest, most engaging Black Ops game that Treyarch, has ever created, so this is an incredible opportunity to create a space to match.  The Black Ops House is an endlessly dark gaming space, completely immersing the player in the action of the game.  Whether playing the all-out combat in Multiplayer, experiencing the all-new battle royale mode, Blackout, or the thrill of Zombies; this one-of-a-kind gaming experience raises the excitement to a whole new level.  It’s been a fascinating and fun way to celebrate the launch of Black Ops 4 later this week.”

Among those playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 in the Black Ops House were Dele Alli, who said: “It was a great experience playing Black Ops in the blackout environment, it felt like I was in the game! I wish I could get my own blackout room!”

The Black Ops House was designed by Asif Khan, the award-winning London-based design studio working at the cutting edge of architecture and technology.   Commenting on the project, Asif Khan said: “Like many of my generation, I grew up gaming at home, with the living room and TV being the default scenery, but here we had a chance to reimagine the whole sensory experience of gaming. We heighten the player’s perception of space and time, from the moment they step up onto the black walkway, to the door which appears from nowhere, to then being enveloped in an infinite void. As an architecture studio we are dedicated to exploring and augmenting human experience. We are so excited here to have been given the opportunity to blur the boundaries between spatial design and digital experience.”
Attendees to the experiment were able to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Multiplayer and witness Zombies and the mode, Blackout.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is published by Activision and developed by Treyarch with additional development support from Raven Software and PC development with Beenox. The title is scheduled for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on October 12th. Black Ops 4 for the PC delivers a fully-optimized experience, which for the first time in Call of Duty’s history will be available exclusively on Battle.net, Blizzard Entertainment’s online gaming service. For more information and the latest intel check out: WWW.CALLOFDUTY.COM, WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/CALLOFDUTY and follow @CALLOFDUTY and @TREYARCH on Twitter, INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK.  The game is rated M for Mature (Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language).

About Activision

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company.  More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, WWW.ACTIVISION.COM or by following @ACTIVISION.

About Surrey NanoSystems

 

UK based Surrey NanoSystems, the creator of the Vantablack range of super-black coatings, was founded in 2006 as a spinout from the University of Surrey. First released in 2014, the original Vantablack coating captured the world’s attention as the darkest material ever created. Today, the technology has developed into a range of super-black materials under the Vantablack brand. These coatings are used across a wide range of industries including space & defense, automotive safety, architecture, camera systems, luxury goods and works of art.

 

About Asif Khan

Asif Khan MBE founded his architecture practice in 2007. It is dedicated to pushing design in new directions. The studio works internationally on projects ranging from cultural buildings to houses, landscape, exhibitions and installations. Current projects include the forthcoming new Museum of London at West Smithfield, and a new Centre of Contemporary Culture in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Notable past projects are the kinetic ‘MegaFaces’ pavilion at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, the Coca-Cola Beatbox at London 2012 Olympics. In 2015 Khan’s work was shortlisted from over 1700 designs in the international competition for the new Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki. In 2016 he was commissioned to design a Serpentine Gallery Summer House which was exhibited in Kensington Gardens.

Asif is the recipient of numerous awards including the Cannes Lion Grand Prix for Innovation and Red Dot awards for Design and Brand Experience Installation. Khan lectures globally on his work, sits on the board of Trustees of the Design Museum.

The practice has just been awarded Architects of the Year 2018 by the German Design Council.

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