Imagine jumping off buildings without being hurt, creating 3D artwork electronically and catching criminals without leaving the safety of your home. This is what three OU graduates have done with their two virtual reality companies.

They own Upward VR and Springboard VR, the largest arcade platform outside of Asia, according to the owners, and the companies are growing rapidly.

Will Stackable, a 2010 graduate, started buying virtual reality headsets shortly after finishing college, looking for a business opportunity.

I got into VR kind of early on and felt strongly that it was going to be a really revolutionary technology,a new medium for stories and entertainment, Stackable said.

Brad Scroggin, a 2009 graduate,worked foran international nonprofit before joining Stackable.

After leaving the non-profit world, (Scroggin)moved to California and was in the process of raising money for a new startup when I called him,Stackable said. He was in town for some investor meetings, and I told him he had to come over to my house to try out this VR thing.He said he wasnt really a gamer, and I said, I know, but seriously, this is going to blow your mind.

Stackableand Scroggincame up with the idea for a virtual reality arcade inside Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City.

They were told the space where Apple once resided was open, and the duo was hooked.

We told them we would take it,and she asked us for our business name and information -- which we didnt have -- and had to come up with a name that night, Stackable said.We finally ended up with Upward VR and went from there.

Stackable and Scroggin had everything they needed to start the companyexceptsoftware to run the arcade.

They turnedto Jordan Williams, a 2013 graduate with a degree in management information systems.

He was working on the business plans for a new startupwhen Brad and I called him and asked him if he would be interested in starting an arcade, Stackable said.He jumped on board, and the next weekwas working his normal 40-hour day job while also working 30-40 hours in the evenings working on the arcade with us.

The arcade opened in December and has been successful due to the ability for multiple people to participate at one time.

It was a game changer. We were able to run eight stations with half the employees, and the customers loved the interface, Stackable said.

Theyve seen first-time participants scream in terror as zombies chase them, paint in 3D and get dizzy while standing on the virtual buildings. Guests can choose from various games and activities in an easy to use format.

Imagine putting on the headset and all around you is this 360-degree, Netflix-like menu with floating tiles with game thumbnails on them, Stackable said. You can hover over each game and it previews a few seconds of the game. Then you can launch any game and when you get bored, come back to the menu and choose again. It also allows customers to hit a button in-game that calls the front desk for help.

Stackable said he understands their software seems simple, but its the most important part of the experience, and other arcades are signing up to use it.

We talked to other arcades that wanted to use it, and we quickly realized that every other VR arcade in the world was going to want this, so we launched a new company called Springboard VR, Stackable said. Thats when everything really took off for us.

Springboard VR owns approximately 30 percent of the virtual reality arcade software market. More than 100 arcades in more than 20 countries are signed up to use their software, and 300 arcades outside of China already use it.

Virtual reality is a booming industry hiding in the shadows waiting to make its grand appearance. The VR market is worth approximately $13.9 billion and is expected to increase to $143.3 billion by 2020.

"Getting to be at the forefront of an emerging industry that will impact every facet of our lives in the near future is an opportunity that I may never have again," Williams said. "There are needs in the VR market all over the place right now, and the fact that that we built a highly needed service for this niche is amazing."

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OU graduates seizing opportunities as virtual reality industry grows - The Oklahoma Daily