Ideas

386 episodes

#1540: Hacking AI for Black Representation & the Future Dreaming of Archival Collections with Tamara Shogaolu

by kentbyeMarch 29, 2025

Curating archives was a theme that I also explored in a conversation with Tamara Shogaolu about her piece ORYZA: HEALING GROUND that premiered at DocLab 2024. She was at SXSW showing the interactive AR story game ANOUSCHKA exploring the memories of...

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#1507: From Selfies to Virtual Offspring, “Ancestors” Turns Strangers into Family and Intergenerational Speculative Futures

by kentbyeDecember 23, 2024

I interviewed director Steye Hallema about Ancestors that showed at IDFA DocLab 2024. See the transcript down below for more context on our conversation. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality : Play...

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#1503: “The Liminal” Spatial Audio Installation Blends Audio Doc with Speculative Arab Futurism

by kentbyeDecember 23, 2024

I interviewed director Alaa Al Minawi about The Liminal that showed at IDFA DocLab 2024. See the transcript down below for more context on our conversation. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality :...

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Kent Bye presenting The Ultimate Potential of VR: Promises and Perils at SXSW 2023

#1388: Ultimate Potential of VR: Promises & Perils Featured Session from SXSW 2023

by kentbyeMay 13, 2024

May of 2024 marks the ten-year anniversary of the Voices of VR podcast, and I wanted to air a featured session that I presented at SXSW 2023 called “The Ultimate Potential of VR: Promises and Perils.” This is a 45-minute talk that...

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#1387: Landscape of XR Ethics: A Retrospective Presentation by Kent Bye

by kentbyeApril 28, 2024

This is a 19-minute talk that I gave at Laval Virtual 2023 that is summarizing the work that I’ve done on XR Ethics over the past ten years. There’s around 60 slides in this talk, and so you may prefer watching the video version over on...

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#1369: Interactive UN Doc “Dreaming of Lebanon” Blends Interactive Oral History, 360 Video, and Speculative Worldbuilding

by kentbyeApril 4, 2024

I interviewed Dreaming of Lebanon co-directors Martin Waehlish & Cynthia Sawma remotely after SXSW XR Experience 2024. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music:...

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Shot of a virtual owl AI agent named Wol in front of an AR portal of a forest scene

#1263: MeetWol AI Agent with Niantic, Overbeast AR App, & Speculative Architecture Essays with Keiichi Matsuda

by kentbyeAugust 26, 2023

Keiichi Matsuda is one of the deepest thinkers in the field of XR. He is trained as an architect, and he’s currently the director of Liquid City, a small design studio based in London that is engaged developing cutting-edge AR applications and...

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Screenshot of an AR digital monument of Samuel Anderson (Flatbush's Famous Black Pioneer) in the park from the Kinfolk application

#1252: “Kinfolk” App is Cultivating an AR Archive of Black History with Digital Monuments & Speculative Futures

by kentbyeAugust 16, 2023

Kinfolk: Black Lands is described by co-founder Idris Brewster as “an Augmented Reality Archive of Black, Brown, LGBTQ, and underrepresented history in general using the power of immersive storytelling and immersive media to uplift stories...

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Picture of Curtis Hickman and his book about Hyper-Reality.

#1237: The VOID’s Curtis Hickman on his book “Hyper-Reality: The Art of Designing Impossible Experiences”

by kentbyeAugust 3, 2023

The VOID was a location-based entertainment company that shut down during the pandemic and maybe coming back at some point. The VOID Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer Curtis Hickman convinced his partners to allow him to reflect upon and share...

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screenshot of Cosmonious High VR game showing off the new vision accessibility update settings

#1232: Low-Vision VR Design Innovations & XR Accessibility in Owlchemy Labs’ “Cosmonious High”

by kentbyeJuly 13, 2023

Owlchemy Labs has been on the leading edge of accessible VR game design since 2016. starting with Job Simulator, and then following up with key accessibility features for Vacation Simulator, and Cosmonious High. They were at XR Access Symposium...

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Liz Hyman moderating a group discussion about public policy during a breakout session at XR Access Symposium

#1228: XR Accessibility and Public Policy with XR Association’s Liz Hyman

by kentbyeJuly 13, 2023

Liz Hyman President and the CEO of the XR Association (XRA), which is a non-profit, industry trade association representing 47 XR companies including major players like Meta, Google, Microsoft, HTC, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Unity, and HTC...

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#1226: Poster Session Interviews from XR Access Symposium 2023

by kentbyeJuly 12, 2023

I had a chance to do six brief interviews during the poster session of XR Access Symposium 2023 that I’ve compiled into this single podcast episode. This gives a great overview of some of the emerging topics for XR accessibility including XR...

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Picture of Reginé Gilbert next an image of her book that's titled "Inclusive Design for a Digital World: Designing with Accessibility in Mind"

#1224: Towards XR Accessibility Heuristics via Principles of Universal Design with Reginé Gilbert

by kentbyeJuly 12, 2023

Reginé Gilbert is the author of the book Inclusive Design for a Digital World: Designing with Accessibility in Mind, and teaches at the New York University in the Tandon School of Engineering. She has been teaching UX for nearly a decade now, and is...

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Picture of Shiri Azenkot and Dylan Fox on stage at the end of the XR Access Symposium with a slide thanking people and giving links to more info

#1222: Kickoff of XR Accessibility Series with XR Access Co-Founder Shiri Azenkot

by kentbyeJuly 12, 2023

This is the first of fifteen in a Voices of VR podcast series on XR Accessibility based upon my coverage from the XR Access Symposium 2023 that happened in New York City on June 15th and 16th. I’m kicking off my 8 hours of coverage with an...

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Picture of Wagner James Au next to his book titled "Making a Metaverse that Matters."

#1221: Wagner James Au’s Book “Making a Metaverse that Matters” Shares 20 Years of Virtual World Insights

by kentbyeJune 21, 2023

Wagner James Au‘s latest book Making a Metaverse that Matters: From Snow Crash & Second Life to A Virtual World Worth Fighting For releases on June 27 after the 20th anniversary of Second Life is on June 23, 2023. Au started as an embedded...

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Screenshot of Scott Stein's CNET hands-on article about the Apple Vision Pro

#1219: Apple Vision Pro Hands-on Debriefing with CNET Editor Scott Stein

by kentbyeJune 7, 2023

I speak to CNET editor at large Scott Stein about his hands-on impression of the Apple Vision Pro that he had on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Check out his full article: “Apple Vision Pro Hands-On: Far Better Than I Was Ready For.” Also see my...

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Screenshot of Ian Hamilton's UploadVR hands-on article about the Apple Vision Pro

#1218: Apple Vision Pro Hands-on Debriefing with UploadVR Editor Ian Hamilton

by kentbyeJune 7, 2023

I speak with UploadVR Editor Ian Hamilton about his hands-on impression of the Apple Vision Pro that he had on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Check out his full article: “Apple Vision Pro Hands-On: Way Ahead of Meta In Critical Ways.” Also see...

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Screenshot of Ben Lang's Road to VR hands-on article about the Apple Vision Pro

#1217: Apple Vision Pro Hands-on Debriefing with Road to VR Editor Ben Lang

by kentbyeJune 7, 2023

I speak with Road to VR Editor Ben Lang about his hands-on impression of the Apple Vision Pro that he had on Monday, June 5, 2023. Check out his full article: “Hands-on: Apple Vision Pro isn’t for Gaming, But it Does Everything Else Better...

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Picture of Claire Fitch next to the title of her Ph.D. thesis that reads "The Emergence of Virtual Natures: Human-Environment Relations, Technocapitalism, and Virtual Reality."

#1205: A Primer on Media Geography, Human-Environment Process-Relational Philosophy, and Virtual Natures with Claire Fitch

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

After I gave my Ultimate Potential of VR: Promises and Perils talk at SXSW, I met a third-year Ph.D. student in the field of Media Geography named Claire Fitch who wanted to follow up with me about the representation of virtual natures within...

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#1200: Defining Process-Relational Architecture with Andreea Ion CojoCaru: Spatial Design as a Participatory Improv Performance

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Andreea Ion CojoCaru is a unique blend of VR developer and practicing architect in both virtual and physical spaces, but who is also driven by deep philosophical questions and her own embodied curiosities exploring the boundaries between the virtual...

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Screenshot of Figural Bodies performance that includes abstract avatars, and two video feeds featuring disabled dancers wearing motion capture gear

#1195: Exploring Non-Normative Avatars with Disabled Dancers in “Figural Bodies” Research Project

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Figural Bodies is a research project out of Goldsmiths college that uses motion captured dance with disabled, non-disabled, and neurodivergent dancers in order to explore non-normative avatar representations as well as the accessibility challenges...

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Three mobile phone screenshots showing speculative future video segments from the Concensus Gentium cinematic AR piece.

#1193: Phone-based Interactive Story “Consensus Gentium” Takes Top SXSW Prize for Chilling Speculative Worldbuilding Exploring AI Bias, Surveillance, & Biometric Agency

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Consensus Gentium is took him the Grand Jury prize for SXSW Immersive 2023, and it’s the most immersive phone-based experience that I’ve ever had. The Latin title translated means that “If everyone believes it, it must be true,” and it’s a near-term...

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Shot of photogrammetry scanned mushroom within a virtual forest that is a screencapture from Forager.

#1189: “Forager” Volumetric Timelapse of Mushroom Growth Hits a Sweet Spot of Touch, Smell, & Immersive Storytelling

by kentbyeApril 2, 2023

Forager is a short immersive story that shows the four stages of development of a mushroom through a groundbreaking volumetric timelapse that takes place within a game engine. They had to innovate on automating their photogrammetry timelapse...

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Picture of Alvin Graylin and Kent Bye standing in front of a SXSW sign flashing peace signs.

#1185: HTC’s Enterprise VR Strategy + Debate about the Future of AI

by kentbyeApril 2, 2023

I speak with HTC’s Alvin Wang Graylin, who is the President of HTC China & Global VP of Corporate Development at HTC about HTC’s investment strategy and what’s happening in the enterprise XR space. We talk about how hardware subsidies have distorted...

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Image of Nita Farahany's book cover titled "The Battle for Your Brain."

#1184: “Battle for Your Brain” Author Nita Farahany on Establishing Cognitive Liberty as a Human Right for Limits on Neurotechnologies & XR

by kentbyeMarch 9, 2023

Nita Farahany argues that we need to establish a new human right of Cognitive Liberty in order to address the threats of Neurotech like VR, AR, BCIs, & non-invasive neural interfaces in her new book Battle for the Brain: Defending the Right to Think...

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#1183: From Kant to an Organic View of Reality: Scaffolding a Process-Relational Paradigm Shift with Whitehead Scholar Matt Segall

by kentbyeMarch 9, 2023

Virtual Reality represents a paradigm shift for how I’ve come to understand the nature of reality, and there’s a corresponding paradigm shift in philosophy in the move from substance metaphysics to process-relational metaphysics that I’ve previously...

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Screenshot of the Trolly Problem moral dilemma VR experience inside of a virtual train track switch station that was made by the Virginia Philosophy Reality Lab

#1182: Recreating Philosophical Moral Dilemmas in VR, the Gamer’s Dilemma, & Virtual Ethics

by kentbyeMarch 9, 2023

Andrew Kissel has been recreating moral dilemmas like the Trolley Problem in VR at his Virginia Philosophy Reality Lab at Old Dominion University. I had a chance to talk about his work in moral philosophy around catalyzed by Morgan Luck’s paper “The...

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Book cover of Erick Ramirez's book on "The Ethics of Virtual and Augmented Reality" with a mapping of eight varieties of empathy that includes mirroring, cognitively elaborated, perspective taking, in-their-shoes, simulation, mind-reading, theory-theory, and normative

#1181: VR Renaissance in Moral Psychology, Perspectival Thought Experiments in Philosophy, & Bounds of Empathy

by kentbyeMarch 9, 2023

Moral philosopher Erick J. Ramirez writes that we "we are now in the beginning stages of a methodological VR renaissance in moral psychology" in his book "The Ethics of Virtual and Augmented Worlds: Building Worlds." He argues that our imagination...

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Screenshot of a tweet from Jason Kint that reads "I'll sit down with anyone to explain why privacy integrated with anti-trust is the critical issue of our time"

#1180: Anti-Trust & Privacy Watchdog Jason Kint Reflects on Ad Ecosystems & XR

by kentbyeMarch 7, 2023

President Joe Biden wrote an Wall Street Journal op-ed on January 11, 2023 calling for “serious federal protections for Americans’ privacy.” Digital Content Next CEO Jason Kint tweeted out that “I’ll sit down with anyone to explain why privacy...

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screenshot of the cover of XRSI's Privacy Framework version 1.0 that shows an outlined view of someone wearing a VR headset.

#1179: Discussion of XRSI’s Privacy Framework 1.0 from 2020

by kentbyeMarch 7, 2023

On September 8, 2020, the XR Safety Initiative launched their XR Privacy Framework 1.0 which is a set of self-directed, privacy guidelines aimed to empower “individuals and organizations with a common language and a practical tool that is flexible...

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Picture of the inside of a European Union's deliberation room representing their technology policy innovations.

#1178: How the EU’s Metaverse Initiative May Bring XR Privacy Amendments for the AI Act, GDPR, or Digital Markets Act

by kentbyeMarch 7, 2023

There’s an upcoming Virtual World Initiative (aka the Metaverse Initiative) at the European Commission on May 31st, and I had a chance to get Florence G’sell’s thoughts on it. She’s a law professor in France teaching at the University of Lorraine...

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#1177: How the EU’s AI Act Could Impact Biometric Data Definitions & XR Privacy

by kentbyeMarch 7, 2023

The European Union’s AI Act is pending legislation that is classifying different AI applications across different tiers of risk, and there are a number of ways that this legislation could shape the future of how the Metaverse unfolds, especially as...

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Infographic from the Future of Policy Forum titled "Understanding Extended Reality Technology and Data Flows" that elaborates on XR sensor data, usage & telemetry data, XR device data, and location data, as well as use cases.

#1176: XR Privacy Landscape & Data Flows with Future of Privacy Forum’s Jameson Spivack

by kentbyeMarch 7, 2023

I interview Jameson Spivack, who is a senior policy analyst at the Future of Privacy Forum leading their work on Immersive [XR] Technologies of VR/AR/MR, neurotech, BCIs, biometrics, ad practices, and regulatory frameworks. We talk about how there...

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Cover image of the Existing Law and Extended Reality Symposium that happened at the Stanford Cyberpolicy Center that shows Brittan Heller wearing a PSVR 1 headset with controllers.

#1175: Highlights of Existing Law & Extended Reality Symposium at Stanford Law’s Cyberpolicy Center with Organizer Brittan Heller

by kentbyeMarch 7, 2023

There was an Existing Law and Extended Reality: A Research Symposium held at Stanford Law School on Friday, January 6th, 2023, that brought together legal scholars, industry experts, civil society researchers, and academics to look at how immersive...

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Shot of Palmer Luckey at Oculus Connect 1 on September 19, 2014. Photo by Kent Bye.

#1174: Palmer Luckey on Past, Present, & Future of XR: DK1, Valve Fallout, Why He Got Fired, & XR Projects at Anduril Industries

by kentbyeFebruary 24, 2023

I had a chance to talk with Oculus Founder Palmer Luckey about the past, present, & future of XR where he reveals to me that his defense contracting company Anduril has more people employed working on VR than Oculus did when it was bought out by...

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Cover of Martins & Wolfe's book titled "Metaversed: See Beyond the Hype"

#1172: “Metaversed: See Beyond the Hype” Book Interview with Luis Bravo Martins and Samantha G. Wolfe

by kentbyeFebruary 7, 2023

There's a new book about the future potentials of challenges of the Metaverse called "Metaversed: See Beyond the Hype" by Luis Bravo Martins (CMO Kit AR) and Samantha G. Wolfe (Founder of PitchFWD) that is releasing today, February 7th, 2023. It's...

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#1171: XR Association Updates on XR for All Foundation DEI Effort, Tech Policy, & Accessibility

by kentbyeFebruary 2, 2023

On November 1st, 2022 the XR Association (XRA) trade association for VR, AR, and Mixed Reality companies announced the formation of the XR for All Foundation at XRA’s Limitless Future Conference. The press release says, “The XR for All Foundation’s...

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Screenshot of the MIT Open Documentary Lab's website showing off their different initiatives.

#1166: Sarah Wolozin’s Journey to Directing the MIT Open Documentary Lab

by kentbyeDecember 22, 2022

Sarah Wolozin is the director of the MIT Open Documentary Lab, and I had a chance to catch up with her at the IDFA DocLab 2022 in order to record her journey from being a storytelling to working at MIT’s Open DocLab. Here’s the mission statement of...

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#1163: Live XR Performance Experiments with ONX Studios and DocLab Motion Capture Stage at IDFA 2022

by kentbyeDecember 22, 2022

The ONX + DocLab MoCap Stage at IDFA DocLab 2022 featured a number of experimental XR performances using a high-end OptiTrack – Motion Capture System within a theatrical stage with a screen that was projecting the virtual representations. Each of...

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#1160: Interview with MIT Co-Creation Studio’s Book Authors of “Collective Wisdom: Co-Creating Media with Equity and Justice”

by kentbyeDecember 21, 2022

The book Collective Wisdom: Co-creating Media for Equity and Justice by the MIT Co-Creation Studio founder Kat Cizek & MIT Open DocLab founder William Uricchio was the named as the recommended book of 2022 by IDFA. They held a launch party during...

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#1155: Polymorf’s Multi-Sensory “Symbiosis” Explores Speculative Futures Inspired by Philosopher Donna Haraway

by kentbyeDecember 21, 2022

Polymorf's Symbiosis is a multi-sensory VR experience that uses soft-body haptics, a bespoke, microdose smell dispersal system, and different tastes. The piece debuted at IDFA DocLab 2021 (see my previous interview here), and it has a sold out run...

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#1153: Imagining the Future of a 15-year old in 30 years in “Horizon” One-on-One Immersive Theater Piece

by kentbyeDecember 12, 2022

Horizon is a one-on-one immersive theater piece where an audience member is asked a series of questions by a 15-year old to imagine their future 30 years from now in 2052. It ends up being a world building exercise where the audience has to create...

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#1152: Provoking Deeper Questions about the Ecological Sustainability of XR Tech with “Okawari VR”

by kentbyeDecember 12, 2022

This episode kicks off my 18-episode coverage from International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA) DocLab, which features the latest innovations of immersive storytelling from the documentary community. Okawari VR is an immersive experience...

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#1147: Thirteen Philosophers on the Problem of Opposites: Grant Maxwell’s Integration & Difference Book & Archetypal Approaches to Character

by kentbyeOctober 27, 2022

Grant Maxwell’s book Integration and Difference: Constructing a Mythical Dialectic looks at the problem of the opposites through the lens of 13 philosophers who mostly fit within a constructivist stream of pragmatist, speculative, or process thought...

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#1146: Brad Lynch’s Journey as a VR Hardware Analyst: Valve Deckard, Speculative Patent Research, & Hardware Leaks

by kentbyeOctober 18, 2022

Brad Lynch has described his SadlyItsBradly YouTube channel as a speculation and prediction channel focusing on the next generation VR hardware, and it has been providing some of the most insightful and detailed VR hardware analysis in the XR...

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#1145: Wrap-up of Meta Connect with 4 Immersive Journalists: Meta Quest Pro Impressions & Meta Reality Labs Research Demos

by kentbyeOctober 16, 2022

Meta Connect happened this past week on October 11th where Meta announced the Meta Quest Pro, and also released quite a lot of interesting information about their future strategies. I participated in a panel discussion with 3 other immersive...

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#1144: Venice Immersive Panel on The Art of Reviewing Immersive Art and Entertainment

by kentbyeOctober 11, 2022

This is the 26th & last episode of my Venice Immersive 2022 coverage, and I wanted to end with this discussion amongst film and immersive critics about the various challenges for reviewing and critiquing immersive art and entertainment. This is a...

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#1143: VRChat World Builder Fins and his 3 Experiences in Venice Immersive 2022: “Treasure Heist,” “Magic Heist,” and “District Roboto”

by kentbyeOctober 11, 2022

VRChat world builder Fins had 3 experiences in Venice Immersive 2022 with one in competition (Treasure Heist), and two in the Worlds Gallery (Magic Heist and District Roboto). Fins comes from an illustration and concept artist background, and so...

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#1141: Venice Immersive VRChat Worlds Gallery Producer Mike Salmon on Curating the Frontiers of DIY World Building

by kentbyeOctober 11, 2022

Mike Salmon is the producer of the VRChat Worlds Gallery at Venice Immersive, which means that the scouts out potential worlds, helps track down potential events to feature, and coordinates all of the physical and virtual docents who helping to...

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