Rift: The Surrogate – Kritischer Sci-Fi-Ausblick auf die Zukunft mit VR

The Surrogate ist eine interaktive und narrative VR-Erfahrung für Oculus Rift, die eine kritische Perspektive zum Einfluss der AR- und VR-Technologie in unser tägliches Leben aufzeigt. Mit Sci-Fi-Elementen zeigt der interaktive Kurzfilm, wie die Grenzen zwischen Realität und Fiktion durch die Entwicklung der Technologie verschwimmen könnten. Die Geschichte stammt aus der Feder von Peter Flaherty, während die Umsetzung durch das Entwicklerstudio VR Playhouse erfolgte.

The Surrogate – Voyeuristische Einblicke in die Zukunft

Die Geschichte der interaktiven VR-Erfahrung The Surrogate spielt in einer nahen Zukunft, in der die AR- und VR-Technologie wesentlich ausgereifter ist. Der Zuschauer schlüpft in die Rolle einer Ehefrau namens Juliana Bach, die aufgrund des stetigen Einflusses der Technologie eine psychotische Angststörung entwickelte. Sie zog sich immer mehr in die digitalen Welten zurück und verfolgt die Geschehnisse ihres Hauses nur noch hinter den Wänden. Um ihrer psychischen Krankheit entgegenzuwirken, unterzieht sie sich einigen Behandlungen, die jedoch wirkungslos verlaufen.

Als neuen Therapieansatz entschließt sie sich, ein Surrogate einzustellen, das ihre physische Präsenz ersetzt. Doch dieser Entschluss hat Folgen auf die Beziehung mit ihrem Ehemann, der letztlich in der angedeuteten Sublimierung der beiden Frauen endet.

The-Surrogate-Oculus-Rift

In der Perspektive der Ehefrau darf der Spieler durch die computergenerierten Wände der Wohnung per Stick mit Touch-Controller wandeln und den Handlungen innerhalb der Räume durch Blick durch einige Fenster folgen. Die 360-Grad-Aufnahmen zeigen die beiden Schauspieler, welche nach und nach die Auswirkungen der Technologie auf das Leben des Ehepaares aufzeigen.

Die Qualität der Aufnahmen lässt jedoch etwas zu wünschen übrig und die fehlenden 3D-Effekte stören die Immersion, wie auch von einigen Zuschauern kritisiert wird. Dennoch zeigen die Produzenten, wie man mit elegantem Einsatz von Stilmitteln interessantes VR-Storytelling betreiben kann.

The Surrogate ist kostenlos für [amazon_textlink asin=’B073X8N1YW’ text=’Oculus Rift’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’vrne-21′ marketplace=’DE’ link_id=’abd6751d-fb85-11e7-b4c0-1ba1b22001eb’] im Oculus Store erhältlich.

(Quellen: Upload VR| Flaherty Pictures | Upload VR Youtube)

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How Do Two Live One Life? VR Playhouse Introduces The Surrogate

As we’ve seen with increasing regularity the idea of using virtual reality (VR) to tell a different kind of immersive story is becoming more and more common place. Sometimes these come in the form of a videogame such as Artifact 5’s intreguing title Anamorphine which is due to come out in the near future. We’ve also seen creatives turn to VR to help craft their messages in more cinematic experiences and we’ve seen many times on the site all manner of topic covered in pieces for the likes of the Sundance Film Festival and Raindance Film Festival.

The Surrogate - ScreenshotToday’s news comes from Los Angeles, California. Home of VR Playhouse, a full-service production company and creative studio that specialises in creating new worlds in immersive media – both VR and augmented reality (AR). Founded by Christina Heller and Ian Forester, the latter of whom recently discussed his ideas for which industries will drive VR’s growth in 2018. The company have produced a broad range of prodjects, some of which we have previously featured on VRFocus.com. Everything from music videos to commercial tie-ups with the likes of Toyota.

Today the team announce a brand new VR experience by Creator and Director Peter Flaherty and Producer
Logan Brown which fuses 360 degree video with a CG environment to produce a look into how technology affects our everyday inter-personal relationships. Produced in a way that, according to the studio, channels the same attitude to contemporary storytelling as popular series Black Mirror.

Called The Surrogate, viewers enter the life of Juliana Bach who after being immersed in a world now overflowing with VR and AR experiences has now started suffering from anxiety from it all. The player takes on the role of a surrogate who Bach has hired to live her ‘physical’ life for her, and now she guides the player as they explore an old house Bach once shared with her former husband. Where you go in the twisting maze of rooms beyond the facade of a modern home is up to you – but how are two people supposed to live one life without living it together?

The Surrogate - Screenshot
“I wanted to take a different approach to how we are dealing with this kind of immersive technology as a storytelling tool by offering the viewer a story that combines cinematic live action with an interactive environment,” explains Flaherty. “The technology inspired me to tell a story that looks ahead to what our shared cultural future may hold in the coming years. I wanted to communicate how powerful this exciting new technology is, but how overwhelming it could be to live in a world proliferated with layered media.”

You can find a preview of the work on the Oculus Store, VRFocus will have more about the work being done by VR Playhouse and other creative studios with the VR medium very soon.

 

 

The Surrogate Is A Black Mirror-Style VR Experience

The Surrogate Is A Black Mirror-Style VR Experience

Netflix’s Black Mirror series has already shined the spotlight on VR in one of its many cautionary takes on the future of technology. The Surrogate, however, is a Black Mirror-style experience that takes place inside VR itself.

Launching today on the Oculus Rift and directed by Peter Flaherty, The Surrogate is an interactive VR experience set in a future not too far from now. Developed by LA-based VR Playhouse, the piece takes a look at the impact of emerging technologies on our relationships. In it, viewers embody a female protagonist named Juliana Bach that explores her relationship with her husband.

Bach suffers from an anxiety order brought about by increased use of both VR and AR. To avoid her struggles, she hires a ‘surrogate’ that takes her place in the real world. Gradually, her displacement starts to take an impact on her marriage, while viewers will uncover from scene-to-scene.

Interestingly, the piece mixes 360-degree video with a fully computer-generated home environment that users can explore as they would a VR game. Viewers can choose how to explore the narrative, visiting portals around the house from his they observe the live action segments.

Whether or not The Surrogate captures the intimate kind of satires that makes its inspirations so successful remains to be seen. A preview of the experience is already available on the Oculus Store.

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