ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Nick Madden is working with a team at Wentworth Institute of Technology to develop a virtual reality start-up
company.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN — Nick Madden and his two college classmates are hoping to take gaming to the next level.
Madden, 19, a Lynn English High School graduate, is working with a team at Wentworth Institute of Technology to develop Envision, a virtual reality start-up.
The team went before the spring “Hot Seat” pitch round at Accelerate, similar to the ABC show “Shark Tank” to present their idea of having gamers be inside the video game with virtual reality goggles instead of in front of a computer, Madden said. The project was approved and the team received $3,000 to apply towards equipment purchases. He called the pitch nerve-wracking.
“We honestly had no idea if we were going to get anything,” Madden said.
Madden partnered with fellow Wentworth sophomores James Coleman, of Bridgewater, and Damien Sardinha, of Taunton.
Envision is growing within Accelerate, Wentworth’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, which has a goal of bringing innovation and entrepreneurship skills to students. The team was inspired after attending a Cambridge meet-up where they had an opportunity to test the latest virtual reality technology.
Madden said the idea for the product is in its early stages, and the group is working on surveys and market research of how to go about the next step. The team is trying to target as many people as possible, with no specific age group in mind.
“We’re trying to move away from it being a video game and more of an experience, something that everyone will want to try at least once,” he said.
He doesn’t envision selling the system itself, which would include virtual reality goggles for participants to wear, with experiences being controlled by a pre-set computer program. People would buy a ticket to go into a room to use the equipment, and while walking around, they will feel like they’re inside the game.
“The Envision team is emerging as a successful startup, prototyping and pitching their idea of virtual reality for everyone, taking their entrepreneurial passion to the next level,” said Monique Fuchs, associate vice-president of Accelerate, in a statement.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.