Voices of VR

#1789: Steam Frame VR HMD Peripheral Developed by Arcturus Vision Camera Sep 15, 2026 52:20 Valve's Steam Frame was finally announced today, and initial lottery to have an opportunity to buy one will be open until September 17th. Some of the biggest complaints are around the low quality, monochrome, default mixed reality passthrough cameras. But Valve collaborated with the Arcturus Vision Camera team to add a port that would enable their $149 camera peripheral to the Steam Frame in order

#1788: Curatorial Overview of Venice Immersive 2026 & Celebrating 10 Years of Immersive Storytelling Aug 17, 2026 1:18:14 The 2026 edition of Venice Immersive marks their 10-year anniversary, and I interviewed the co-curators Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac about this year's selection that includes 30 projects in competition, 9 Best of selections, 3 Biennale College Cinema – Immersive projects, 26 VRChat worlds, as well as a special immersive event. Rosenthal and Reilhac talk about how the structures and forms o

#1787: Blending the Elements of Experiential Design & Process-Relational Foundations of the Elements Aug 11, 2026 1:08:24 I gave a lecture about "Blending the Elements of Experiential Design" on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at Seattle XR in Seattle, Washington. (PDF of Slides]. At the end, I run through some examples of the types of interdisciplinary fusion that I see within the context of immersive storytelling and immersive art. This lecture also digs into the process-relational philosophical foundations, as well as how

#1786: Collective Reading Experience of “Constantinopoliad” Provokes Discussion on Defining “Immersive” Aug 10, 2026 1:02:43 I interviewed Sister Sylvester about Constantinopoliad on Friday, September 12, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Constantinopoliad: "Constantinopoliad is a collective reading and audio work. A response to the archive of the poet Constantine Cavafy, the story is inspired by the blank and torn-out pages in Constantinopoliad, an Epic, the journal the te

#1785: The Landmark Achievements of “Blur” in Fusing Theater, Montage, Mixed Reality, and LBE VR Aug 10, 2026 1:02:00 I interviewed Craig Quintero & Phoebe Greenberg about Blur on Friday, August 29, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Blur: "Blur presents a new myth for the modern age, where science has changed how we think about life and death. With cloning and advances in resurrection biology, we have obscured the boundaries between the living and the dead — the natu

#1784: The Incredible Spatial Transitions of “Dark Rooms” with Radical Consent Innovations Aug 10, 2026 41:52 I interviewed Mads Damsbo & Laurits Flensted-Jensen about Dark Rooms on Saturday, August 30, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Dark Rooms: "Dark Rooms is an exploration of human psychology through the prism of sexuality. The viewer and two other participants are invited to explore four inner spaces, each one a private, intimate story told and co-creat

#1783: “Less Than 5gr of Saffron” Wins 2nd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Spatial Poem Quill Animation Aug 10, 2026 52:40 I interviewed Négar Motevalymeidanshah & Gwenaelle Clauwaert about Less Than 5gr of Saffron on Saturday, August 30, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Less Than 5gr of Saffron: "Golnaz is a young Iranian immigrant trying to adjust to her new life in Germany. One evening, returning from her job (as an assistant at a migrant reception centre in the Berli

#1782: “A Long Goodbye” Wins 3rd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Emotionally-Moving Story on Dementia and Spatial Grammar Innovations Aug 10, 2026 1:10:34 I interviewed Kate Voet & Victor Maes about A Long Goodbye on Saturday, August 30, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for A Long Goodbye: "A Long Goodbye tells the story of Ida, a 72-year-old pianist living with dementia. In this animated, interactive VR experience, we walk in Ida’s shoes. We experience a day in her life, as her reality is fading. The apar

#1781: Winner of Venice Immersive 2025 “The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up” Innovates on Gaussian Splats & Spatial Storytelling Aug 10, 2026 1:08:45 I interviewed Singing Chen about The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up on Monday, September 1, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up: "After the sudden death of his wife, Guan discovers her unfinished novel — a tale intertwining the endangered clouded leopard and the Rukai tribe’s sacred origin myth, which tells of th

#1780: Recap of VRChat Worlds Gallery at Venice Immersive 2025 with Mike Salmon Aug 10, 2026 51:19 I interviewed Mike Salmon about the VRChat Worlds Gallery selection that was a part of the Venice Immersive 2025 on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. vent. What is Virtual Art – Volume 1 FLASHING WARNING Flat Earth Neuron Powdergame Fzmz Pointzero よるとうげ -Yorutouge- Ritual （v․1․3) The Reality of Hope Mirage Natura’s Queendom Unc

#1779: “Heartbeat” Immersive, 1-on-1 Biometric Synchronization and Involuntary Collective Agency Aug 10, 2026 37:58 I interviewed Fanny Fortage & Harry Clunet-Farlow about Heartbeat – Son Cœur a Trouvé Sa Cadence Dans Le Silence Des Rencontres on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Heartbeat – Son Cœur a Trouvé Sa Cadence Dans Le Silence Des Rencontres -- "His heart found its rhythm in the silence of encounters.": "HeartBeat is an immersive sel

#1778: Collaborative Social Game and Story of “Happy Shadow” Aug 10, 2026 35:57 I interviewed Pei-ying Lin about Happy Shadow on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Happy Shadow: "Joey believed that happiness was lost to her forever as she grew up. Her shadow, a constant companion, yearned to bring joy back into her life but felt helpless. Nothing changed until the player stumbled into Joey’s inner world through

#1777: Active Imagination, Associative Dream Logic, & Embodied Interactions in “Sense of Nowhere” Aug 10, 2026 46:20 I interviewed Hsin-hsuan Yeh about Sense of Nowhere on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Sense of Nowhere: "Where do we go when we zone out, and how do we find our way back to reality? Sense of Nowhere is a journey from no-where to now-here, inspired by The Way from Taoism, the Illusion from Buddhism, and Jung’s practice of Activ

#1776: The Spatial Grammar Innovations of Dialectical Contrasts and Abstraction within “The Big Cube” Aug 10, 2026 48:46 I interviewed Menghui Huang about The Big Cube on Monday, September 1, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for The Big Cube: "A world is made of cubes. The creatures there always follow instructions and push cubes numbly. Yet, when one of them chooses not to follow the instructions, after discovering another path, something unexpected happens." Here are

#1775: The Continuous Spatial One-Shot of Backlight’s “La Magie Opera” LBE Aug 10, 2026 50:14 I interviewed Jonathan Astruc about La Magie Opera on Friday, August 29, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for La Magie Opera: "The viewer is part of a group of extras at the Palais Garnier. At the foot of the grand staircase, he crosses paths with Céleste, a young opera singer about to flee the stage. Nervous and unsure, she confides her doubts and dream

#1774: Combining Live Dance and Music in Immersive LBE Performance “L’ombre (The Shadow)” Aug 10, 2026 50:45 I interviewed Etienne Li about L'ombre (The Shadow) on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for L'ombre (The Shadow): "In Andersen’s tale The Shadow, a scientist brings his shadow to life. It becomes autonomous and manages to pass itself off as a human being in society. The shadow overtakes its master, returns to try to enslave him, and

#1773: “Collective Body” Assigns Elemental Avatars Based Upon Archetypal Dance Movements Aug 10, 2026 53:10 I interviewed Sarah Silverblatt-Buser about Collective Body on Friday, August 29, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Collective Body: "Collective Body is an interactive, virtual reality experience that invites us to meet ourselves and each other through movement. Set in the middle of a New Mexican storm, participants are guided to rediscover their firs

#1772: Climate Change Spatial Montage “Out of Nowhere” Aspires to Move Towards Rewilding Prevention Aug 10, 2026 41:17 I interviewed Kris Hofmann about Out of Nowhere on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Out of Nowhere: "Out of Nowhere gently explores how preserving alluvial forests, marshes and wetlands can help us face the challenges of an ever angrier, unpredictable climate. Told through the eyes of Anna, a lifelong resident of Hallein, a histori

#1771: Environmental Storytelling in “The Great Orator” VR Diorama with Generative AI Experiments Aug 10, 2026 53:03 I interviewed Daniel Ernst about The Great Orator on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for The Great Orator: "Once a famous TV preacher, the Great Orator died at the height of her fame. Now, her consciousness lives on as an AI, allowing her influence to grow ceaselessly. Her followers can join her again in a shared consciousness, feedin

#1770: Eastern Philosophy-Inspired Fusion of Theater and XR with “Mnemosyne” Aug 10, 2026 48:57 I interviewed Wuer about Mnemosyne on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Mnemosyne: "Mnemosyne is an innovative immersive work that blends VR film and live theatre, offering a multi- sensory experience and a poetic exploration of love, illusion, and awakening. Inspired by Tang Xianzu’s Ming Dynasty classic The Peony Pavilion, the pie

#1769: Mixed Reality Musical on Avatars and Identity in “First Virtual Suit” Aug 10, 2026 26:21 I interviewed Kazuki Yuhara about First Virtual Suit on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for First Virtual Suit: "In the near future, as virtual reality becomes a part of everyday life, creating and using avatars becomes the norm. But what do we choose to project onto these digital selves? Are they idealised versions of who we wish to

#1768: Symbolic Journey through Lithuania’s Artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis’ Paintings in “Creation of the World” Aug 10, 2026 46:56 I interviewed Kristina Buožytė & Vitalijus Žukas about Creation of the World on Monday, September 1, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Creation of the World: "Creation of the Worlds is a VR experience inspired by the visionary art and music of Lithuania’s most renowned artist, Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. This poetic VR odyssey is both a meditat

#1767: Immersive Journey through Special Effects Pioneer Carlo Rambaldi’s Paintings in “Alien Perspective” Aug 10, 2026 49:06 I interviewed Jung Ah Suh & Cristina Rambaldi about Alien Perspective on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Alien Perspective: "Carlo Rambaldi was a visionary architect of the unimaginable. Through his groundbreaking work on E.T., Alien, and Dune, he expanded the boundaries of cinematic reality — conjuring lifeforms and worlds that d

#1766: Formula 1 LBE Experience “Black Cats & Chequered Flags” is an Immersive Biopic of Alberto Anscari Aug 10, 2026 56:33 I interviewed Elisabetta Rotolo & Siobhan McDonnell about Black Cats & Chequered Flags on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Black Cats & Chequered Flags: "Black Cats & Chequered Flags begins with a haunting Spatial Memory Fragment that immerses viewers in the emotional world of Alberto Ascari. Echoes of his father, legendary driv

#1765: Immersive Action Thriller “Mulan 2125” Pushes the Edge of Graphical Fidelity Aug 10, 2026 48:23 I interviewed Mo Huang & Eric Zhao about Mulan2125 on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Mulan2125: "In 2125, a century after the green-comet “Emerald Fall,” the alien substance Muk still taints Earth. Two powers remain: Ant City and PAC, a militarised regime ruling from the sea fortress, the Crown. Ant City’s flagship, the ARK — a r

#1764: Mixing Hand-Drawn Animation with 360 Video in “The Time Before” Aug 10, 2026 55:32 I interviewed Leo Metcalf & Michael Golembewski about The Time Before on Friday, August 29, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for The Time Before: "Trapped between waking life and dreams, Olly delves into his childhood memories, navigating the fantastical dreamscapes his sister created to shield them from a fractured home. A journey into the buried past t

#1763: Blending Theater and 360 Video in “Re-Launching-Luigi-Broglio” Aug 10, 2026 55:42 I interviewed Vincenzo Cavallo about Re-Launching-Luigi-Broglio on Monday, September 1, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Re-Launching-Luigi-Broglio: "This project gives the chance to dive into the legend of Luigi Broglio [11 November 1911 – 14 January 2001]— who audaciously catapulted Italy into the cosmos from the first space base built on an equato

#1762: Fusing Experimental Immersive Animation with Cutting-Edge Orchestral Spatial Audio Mix in “1968” Aug 10, 2026 54:00 I interviewed Rose Bond about 1968 on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for 1968: "1968 is communal VR theatre that explores the transformative power of protest through allusions to 1968 — a year charged with societal, cultural and political unrest. Animated from still photographs of both the iconic and the mundane, the piece investigat

#1761: Unpacking the Immersive Orchestral Mix of “1968” with Massimiliano Borghesi Aug 10, 2026 39:24 I interviewed Massimiliano Borghesi about 1968 on Thursday, August 28, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. We talked about the spatial audio mix of the orchestral score for 1968. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPgr1nul4ro This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1760: Immersive Fairy Tale about Automation with “The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody” Aug 10, 2026 44:46 I interviewed Nicolas Bourniquel about The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody: "Once upon a time, there was a little mouse who worked relentlessly to achieve a single goal: becoming somebody. Driven solely

#1759: Mother-Daughter Team Explore Personal Challenges with Depression and Anxiety in “Mirage” Immersive Animation Aug 10, 2026 54:59 I interviewed Naima Karim & Aleena Hanif about Mirage on Saturday, August 30, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Mirage: "Mirage is an interactive Virtual Reality experience of a young girl who is battling depression and anxiety. Set in a desert landscape, it is a metaphorical and stylised adaptation with visuals created by the artist Naima Karim and h

#1758: Reckoning with Mental Health Taboos in Japan with “If You See a Cat” Immersive Animation Aug 10, 2026 33:37 I interviewed Kenji Ishimaru about If You See a Cat on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for If You See a Cat: "The boy’s only friend was a hallucination of his beloved cat. Concerned for his mental health, his mother admitted him to a psychiatric hospital. After three months of medication-based treatment, the hallucinations fade, an

#1757: Embody a Geranium in Immersive Comedy about Boredom in “The Great Escape” Aug 10, 2026 37:28 I interviewed Joren Vandenbroucke about The Great Escape on Monday, September 1, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for The Great Escape: "In The Great Escape, the viewer arrives as the third of three geranium flowers stuck on the windowsill in the bare living room of Patrick, a lonely 38-year-old man. The geraniums are bored to death and constantly frustr

#1756: Exploring Narrative Potential of Generative AI in “8pm and the Cat” Aug 10, 2026 49:37 I interviewed Director Minhyuk Che & Producer Sngmoo Lee about 8pm and the Cat on Saturday, August 30, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for 8pm and the Cat: "Cartoonist Haru loses his partner, Mina, in the Itaewon tragedy. Since then, 8 pm — the hour she used to come home — keeps repeating: an ordinary moment in daily life now shadowed by her absence. Wi

#1755: Hand-Tracked Sign Language as Story Beat Triggers in “Eddie and I” Aug 10, 2026 42:48 I interviewed Maya Shekel about Eddie and I on Monday, September 1, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Eddie and I: "How do you overcome the fear of the unknown? Eight-year-old deaf Ron is afraid of his first camping trip. To calm him, his mother tells the story of Eddie the Camper, a friendly monster who grew up in the forest and is the perfect compan

#1754: Screen Life Thriller “LILI” about Surveillance Fuses Game Design, Film, and MacBeth Adaptation Aug 10, 2026 1:00:36 I interviewed Navid Khonsari & Vassiliki Khonsari about LILI on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for LILI: "In an Iranian city, Lili, the lonely wife of a militia commander, plots a murder to secure her husband’s rise within a corrupt regime. But when the killing unhinges the order of things, she is drawn into a network of deep web hac

#1753: Mixed Reality Town-Building and Sim Game “Wall Town Wonders” Aug 10, 2026 45:44 I interviewed Ives Agemans about Wall Town Wonders on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Wall Town Wonders: "Wall Town Wonders is a magical mixed reality experience where players discover a miniature town growing inside their living room walls. Through Meta’s latest mixed reality headset, the game blends real and virtual worlds us

#1752: Blending Embodied Game & Narrative Genres with “One True Path, Part 1” Aug 10, 2026 43:16 I interviewed Richard Turco about One True Path, Part 1 on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for One True Path, Part 1: "The viewer can travel through three fantastical worlds from author Jack Stevenson’s oldschool Fiendish Fates gamebook series, each featuring different themes and gameplay. With a magical sword in hand, the viewer c

#1751: “Ghost Town” Narrative Integration in Puzzle Adventure with Exquisite Worldbuilding Aug 10, 2026 36:54 I interviewed Tom Seed about Ghost Town on Friday, August 29, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Ghost Town: "Life has been going well for Edith. The paranormal detective agency she runs with her flatmate has never been busier, she’s almost up-to-date with her rent and the ghosts in her bathroom mirror have been less demanding than usual. Edith’s world

#1750: Doug Liman’s “Asteroid” Short Immersive Film with Google Gemini Story Extension + Kickoff of Venice Immersive 2025 Coverage Aug 10, 2026 37:23 This post officially kicks off my Venice Immersive 2025 coverage, see links to all 38 episodes and 30+ hours of interviews down below. We're starting off with the interview that I did with Doug Liman (co-founder of 30 Ninjas), Julina Tatlock (co-founder of 30 Ninjas), & Jed Weintrob (co-founder of 30 Ninjas), & Max Spear (Product Lead of Android XR at Google) about Asteroid on Saturday, August 30,

#1749: Socratic Debate on the Future of “AI” & XR (Round 2) from AWE 2026 Jul 13, 2026 1:06:25 I participated in another Socratic Debate about the Future of "AI" and XR at Augmented World Expo 2026 with Leslie Shannon, Alvin Graylin, and Louis Rosenberg (you can listen to last year's debate in episode #1611). Shannon and Graylin argued for "AI," whilst Rosenberg and I argued against "AI." In my write-up, I wanted to leave some breadcrumbs to more in-depth, skeptical arguments against "AI

#1748: Caitlin Krause on the Experience of XR, Process Philosophy Musings, & the Ethics of AI Jul 3, 2026 1:15:57 I interviewed Caitlin Krause about the experience of XR, Process Philosophy musings, & the ethics of AI on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1747: XR Software Engineer Trond Nilsen on Reluctantly Using AI Hyperscalers & the Aspiration for Open Source Alternatives Jul 3, 2026 24:39 I interviewed Trond Nilsen about reluctantly using AI Hyperscalers & the aspiration for open source alternatives on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1746: Tom Furness Announces The Luminara, Institute of Light to Cultivate Human Flourishing with XR Jul 3, 2026 28:49 I interviewed XR Pioneer Tom Furness about Luminara, Institute Institute of Light that he announced at on June 17th, 2026 during his 1:35p session at Augmented World Expo. He describes the vision on their website as "Luminara is a non-profit research, learning, and humanitarian initiative exploring how emerging technologies, human consciousness, creativity, compassion, and service can work togethe

#1745: Key Open Standards Enabling the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative with Metaverse Standards Forum Jul 3, 2026 1:00:47 I interviewed Metaverse Standards Forum President Neil Trevett about key open Standards enabling the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative with RP1 on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. You can see their AWE talk here, and check out the Open Metaverse Browser wiki for more information. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon.

#1744: Open Metaverse Browser Initiative for Web-Based Spatial Services Announced by RP1 and Metaverse Standards Forum Jul 3, 2026 34:32 I interviewed Sean Mann about RP1's Open Metaverse Browser Initiative announcement with the Metaverse Standards Forum on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. You can see their AWE talk here, and check out the Open Metaverse Browser wiki for more information. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1743: Ben Erwin on Immersive Public Media, Open Standards, & The Academy of Immersive Arts and Sciences Jul 3, 2026 34:29 I interviewed Ben Erwin about Immersive Public Media, Open Standards & The Metaverse Standards Forum, & The Academy of Immersive Arts and Sciences on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1742: Amanda Watson on GPL Compatibility in VR, Oculus Link & Air Link, & VR as the Perfect 3DUI for Robotic Teleoperation Jul 3, 2026 31:01 I interviewed Amanda Watson about GPL Compatibility in VR with CitraVR, Oculus Link & Air Link, & VR as the Perfect 3DUI for Robotic Teleoperation on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1741: Interoperable OpenXR with a Single APK to 3 Different HMDs for a P2P Multi-Player Game by Stay Warm Studios Jul 3, 2026 22:21 I interviewed founders of Stay Warm Studio Carol Silverman and Dario Laverde about an interoperable OpenXR experience titled fun4player that was deployed from a single APK to 3 different VR HMDs (Samsung Galaxy XR, Oculus Quest 3, and Pico 4). We chatted on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of

#1740: Targo Stories on the Growing Interest in Immersive Storytelling in the Broader XR Industry Jul 3, 2026 31:28 I interviewed Victor Agulhon about the growing interest in immersive storytelling through his Targo Stories on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. Targo won an Auggie this year as well as an Apple Design Award both for D-Day: The Camera Soldier (see episode #1565 for more). This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music

#1739: Ganek Immersive Studio at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts is Cultivating the Next-Generation of Immersive Video Directors Jul 3, 2026 29:14 I interviewed Nathan Fairchild about Ganek Immersive Studio at USC's School of Cinematic Arts on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. Fairchild was at AWE showing off some student projects of Immersive Video, and I really quite enjoyed the hyperstylized, fever dream of Elevator by LILLETH who is coming from an immersive theatre background. Ori Inbar had mentio

#1738: USC’s Immersive Archive to Preserve Immersive Art and VR Stories Jul 2, 2026 17:02 I interviewed Zeynep Abes about USC's Immersive Archive Initiative on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. Also be sure to check out my interview with Avinash Changa on the The Institute of Immersive Preservation, which is addressing other aspects of the required operating system infrastructure to emulate drivers over the past decade of immersive works.

#1737: Christopher Stapleton’s Augmented Imagination Framework for Conversational Embodied Stories Jul 2, 2026 34:55 I interviewed Christopher Stapleton about Augmented Imagination Framework for Conversational Embodied Stories on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. Here's the recording of Stapleton's AWE talk on the Augmented Imagination, which provides a lot more visuals for many of the same topics that we cover in this conversation. This is a listener-supported podc

#1736: HoloLabs Studio’s “Abyss Vault” LBE Escape Room Adventure Innovates on Collaborative Puzzles for 2-6 Players Jul 2, 2026 27:53 I interviewed Brett Gaylor and Mike Wozniewski about HoloLabs Studio's Abyss Vault LBE escape room experience on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. Here's their talk from AWE titled "Build VR Like a Theme Park. Market It Like a Movie." This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1735: Excurio Continues Worldwide LBE Expansion of the “Movie Theaters” of Free-Roaming VR Jul 2, 2026 28:10 I interviewed Jules Rimbaud about Excurio's worldwide expansion of their Location-Based Entertainment Immersive Expeditions on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. You can check out my previous interviews with Excurio in episode numbers #1430, #1588, and #1651. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1734: Metropolitan Museum of Art Experiments with XR & AI for Storytelling & Remote Access Jul 2, 2026 53:07 I interviewed Brett Renfer about Metropolitan Museum of Art Experiments with XR & AI on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. You can check out the The Temple of Dendur and Oceanic Art in Virtual Reality within the Atopia VR application. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1733: Oregon Reality Lab Founder Donna Davis on Preparing College Students for the Future of Immersive Communication Jul 2, 2026 38:47 I interviewed Oregon Reality Lab founder Donna Davis, which is The University of Oregon's Immersive Media Research & Education Lab. We chatted on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1732: ArborXR on Immersive Training Trends, Handling Meta’s Enterprise Uncertainty, & VR Headset Tradeoffs Jul 2, 2026 38:04 I interviewed Devon Marble about ArborXR on Immersive Training Trends on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1731: Diversifying Beyond XR Indie Gaming & “Trip the Light” with Dark Arts Software Jul 2, 2026 48:00 I interviewed Patrick Ascolese about Trip the Light and other Dark Arts Software projects on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1730: Studio Syro’s “Spatial Mailbox” Messaging App with Gesture-Based, 3DUI Innovations Jul 2, 2026 25:01 I interviewed Studio Syro's Nick Ladd, Nicholas Saunders, and Peter Ariet about the app Spatial Mailbox on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1729: Celeste Lear on Sustainability Awareness in XR, DJing in Social VR, Virtual Production, & TigerVision Immersive Displays Jul 2, 2026 28:47 I interviewed Celeste Lear about Sustainable Impact Alliance XR, DJing in Social VR, Virtual Production, & TigerVision Immersive Displays on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1728: Preserving Tunisian Cultural Heritage with Tanit XR Reality Capture Jul 2, 2026 16:30 I interviewed Ines Said about Tanit XR on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1727: Linux on Your Face with Privacy-First “Raven Prism” Monocular Display Glasses Jul 2, 2026 24:39 I interviewed Raven Resonance's human interaction & software lead Parth Arora as well as founder Thomas Suarez about their Linux-based Raven Prism display glasses on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1726: Qualcomm’s New Snapdragon Reality Elite Announcement Jul 2, 2026 28:14 I interviewed Ziad Asghar about their Snapdragon Reality Elite announcement on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. For more specifications and details, then be sure to check out the report from Road to VR's Ben Lang here. Here's the video of Asghar's announcement from AWE. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music:

#1725: XREAL AURA Spatial Computing Glasses Leverages Android XR & Snapdragon Reality Elite Jul 2, 2026 28:29 I interviewed Ralph Jodice about XREAL AURA spatial computing glasses on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1724: Snap Specs Announcement & Kickoff of AWE 2026 Coverage Jul 2, 2026 28:46 I interviewed Russell Patton about Snap Specs on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

#1723: Agog’s Open Call for Climate Futures + Immersive Media: Deadline on June 12th Jun 4, 2026 29:18 Agog is having their first open call on Climate Futures + Immersive Media that closes on June 12, 2026, at 11:59p PDT. Agog is "committing up to $1 million in grants to support innovators, technologists, artists, organizers, researchers, organizations, studios, and creative teams using immersive media to engage people on climate, from awareness to action." Their official page has a lot more detail

#1722: Meaningful XR Keynote on Patterns of Meaning, Transformation, and Impact Jun 4, 2026 33:57 I gave the opening keynote of the Meaningful XR Conference on May 30, 2026, and here's the video version of my keynote talk titled: "Patterns of Meaning, Transformation, and Impact in XR" and here is the PDF of the slides with clickable footnotes. In this talk, I cover my Experiential & Phenomenological Framework, discuss the Impulse Impact Study that came out on May 28th (see my discussion in epi

#1721: Impact Study on “Impulse” Immersive Doc on ADHD: Artistic Reflections Jun 4, 2026 1:36:34 On May 28, 2026, Anagram released a report titled: "Results of Impact Study Carried Out for Mixed Reality Experience Impulse: Digest for General Public," which was commission by Agog. This 43-page report was written by Dr. Alexandra Sierra, and there's also a more extended 121-page version from December 2025 that's titled "Impulse Research Study Detail and Results" that was also written by Sierra

#1720: Immersive Impact Review is a Hybrid Journalism and Academic Magazine on XR Impact Jun 4, 2026 1:02:48 The Immersive Impact Review launched on March 13, 2026 at 4p CDT in Austin Texas during SXSW, and they describe themselves as "a hybrid journalistic and academic magazine examining immersive media’s strive for social impact." The first issue theme is titled “Value(s) in Practice: Impact and Sustainability in XR,” which is investigating the following questions: "How do we measure and demonstrate so

#1719: RIP Rec Room: Reflections & Memories with Shawn Whiting Jun 1, 2026 1:39:57 On March 30, 2026, Rec Room announced they would be closing on June 1, 2026 at noon PDT. I had a chance to speak to former Rec Room employee Shawn Whiting, who previously the roles of Head of Creators, Head of User Acquisition, and Head of Community. He shares some additional context for the past decade of Rec Room including reflections of some of their top milestones, riding the Metaverse hype, t

#1718: Primer on “The Transformation Economy” with Joe Pine: When Experiences Fulfill Aspirations, Meaning, & Flourishing May 12, 2026 1:20:17 On February 3rd, 2026, Joe Pine released The Transformation Economy, which is a follow-up to The Experience Economy co-written with James Gilmore and published in 1999. They identified a key pattern of how economic offerings have evolved beyond commodities, goods, and services, and moved into experiences as well as transformations. Their prescient predictions about these underlying patterns in

#1716: “Human Spatial Computing” is a Human-Rights-Centered Textbook for XR Design May 10, 2026 1:28:07 The Human Spatial Computing book was published by Oxford University Press on February 5, 2026, and I had a chance to interview the co-authors Reginé Gilbert and Doug North Cook a few weeks after it launched. They alternative as the lead author on each chapter, which provides a comprehensive overview of designing for XR through a variety of different lenses. The entire book is grounded in human rig

#1715: “BurnerSphere” Combines Immersive Documentary, Social VR, and Digital Twin of Burning Man May 10, 2026 1:07:51 BurnerSphere is part immersive documentary, party social VR platform, and part digital twin of Burning Man. It's a standalone VR experience that launched in early alpha for both Quest and Steam on July 22, 2025. It's an evolution of the original Burning Man on AltSpace that I covered back in episodes #940, #960, & #1192, and now they have their own standalone social VR platform that has a digital

#1714: Lincoln Center for Performing Arts Immersive Programming Overview with Jordana Leigh May 5, 2026 45:00 The Lincoln Center for Performing Arts has been stage a variety of different types of immersive experiences as a part of their interdisciplinary programming, and I had a chance to catch up the lead immersive programmer Jordana Leigh at Venice Immersive in order to get an overview of what they've been showing, XR experiences they've commissioned, how audiences connect to each other about the unique

1713: CIIIC’s €200 Million in Public Funding: The Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition May 1, 2026 42:43 The CIIIC is the Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition based out of the Netherlands, which will be spending about €200 Million in Public Funding over the next five years. It is a really exciting development in Europe that is promoting the development of Immersive Experiences (which they abbreviate IX). They will be cultivating knowledge and methods of experiential design, developing immer

#1712: Preview of SXSW XR Experience 2026 with Blake Kammerdiener Mar 13, 2026 1:04:09 I interviewed SXSW XR Experience 2026 curator Blake Kammerdiener about this year's selection, and how immersive artists are using Generative AI in a series of different projects. Below is the selection (ordered from longest to shortest). This year's program runs from 11a to 6p CDT from Sunday, March 15-17, 2026. XR Experience Competition Escape The Internet (Part 1) (50 min) Inter(media

#1711: Mission Responsible 3: Discussion on AI Ethics with 6 Winners of Polys Ombudsperson of the Year Mar 13, 2026 52:07 This is the panel discussion of Mission Responsible 3 featuring the winners of the Polys Ombudsperson of the year including: Kent Bye (2020), Avi Bar-Zeev (2021), Brittan Heller (2022), Micaela Mantegna (2023), Ingrid Kopp (2024), and Nonny de la Pena (2025). Introduced by Renard T. Jenkins. The big topic this year was AI, but lots to say about XR as well. Here are some links that I mentioned i

#1710: When Integration Becomes Subordination: Big Tech Parallels in Carney’s Davos Speech & Untethering from the AI Big Brother Feb 14, 2026 53:59 Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a rousing speech at the World Economic Forum on January 20, 2026 about the rupture of the rules-based order of the globalized economy, and he emphasized the need to build new coalitions to sustain the pressure coming from the United States' emerging authoritarianism. Carney said, “Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as lev

#1709: Ian Hamilton on Getting Fired from UploadVR & Concerns on AI Authorship in News Feb 5, 2026 1:35:24 On Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Ian Hamilton announced on Bluesky that "I've been fired from UploadVR." He was the editor in chief at UploadVR, and he wrote a Substack post titled "Ian is Typing" on January 30th detailing how is co-workers were pushing to do a test of a "clearly disclosed AI author for UploadVR," and that he had three specific concerns that it be brief, for the ability for readers

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