Is it possible to create a VR experience that connects people instead of isolating them? How do we use VR to encourage in-person communications? How do we keep participants engaged while delivering a meaningful message at the same time? Can we use a virtual environment to raise awareness about our environment on earth?
In Memoriam
Social VR Experience, 2018 – 2019
Carrie Sijia Wang & Ellen Nickles
Supported by ITP’s xStory: Experiments in Storytelling
Lost in Synthetic Land — How We Helped Our Participants Find Each Other in a Social VR Experience
“In Memoriam” is an open-ended, shared virtual reality experience that presents a future in which the sounds of nature are preserved in synthetic monuments. Two participants enter a surreal world of tree-like structures, open water, and sounds from the past. Entering at two different locations in the landscape, the guests are encouraged to observe and describe to each other what they see and hear while exploring the artificial forest. The hidden goal of the experience is for the two to find each other in the VR space through verbal communication.
We have detailed our creative process in this article.
Installation
The experience starts from outside the headsets.
Two of our guests looking for each other in this shared VR experience.
