New Frontiers in AR & VR at Sundance
Having spent the last few months working with AR & VR developers on a new mixed reality platform, naturally I was curious to check out…
Having spent the last few months working with AR & VR developers on a new mixed reality platform, naturally I was curious to check out Sundance’s New Frontier exhibition. The program included more than 20 virtual and augmented reality entries, ranging from mobile 360 video to multi-person performance art installations. My favorites:
BattleScar: Rosario Dawson voices Puerto Rican-American teen Lupe in this film-noir style VR ode to New York’s 1970s punk scene. The story takes you through night clubs, warehouse lofts and prison cells using a combination of full-sized virtual environments and small diorama-like boxes that float in front of the audience. After the festival circuit, BattleScar’s creators say they have a deal for it to be streamed on YouTube.
Chorus: This one (pictured above) was my favorite — a 6-person, interactive VR experience that turns you and your friends into mythical virtual warriors, reenacting a battle against dragons and monsters. It’s like being teleported Matrix-like into a Final Fantasy game. Set to a pulsing soundtrack, the experience lets you create visual effects with your hands (e.g. shooting laser beams at bad guys) and talk to other players. It’s a super-fun demo showcasing the potential for shared interactive AR/VR experiences.
TendAR: This 2-person mobile augmented reality game has you teach an AI bot, in the form of a cute red fish, to read your emotional states (sad, happy, angry) and recognize objects in the real world. It’s a fun demo of how computer vision and AI can enable interactive mixed reality experiences. The fish has a sassy personality and gives you attitude if he doesn’t recognize the objects you show him. Studio Tender Claws plans to release this one as a mobile app in the near future.
Spheres: Songs of Spacetime: I didn’t see this piece, directed by Darren Aronofsky, depicting the experience of watching two black holes collide. But I was happy to hear the VR experience was acquired by CityLights in a 7-figure deal, unheard of for virtual reality projects. Spheres will be accessible on Oculus Rift before a wider release on additional VR platforms. The deal highlights the commercial potential for AR/VR and why it’s such a hot area for creative developers.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on January 27, 2018.