Remembering is an abstract VR experience about being born.
Remembering tells a story through sound, music and shapes. It is a slow-paced, poetic journey about the beauty of conception and the trauma of being born. During this almost lucid dream-like experience, you have limited control, and your gaze controls what you hear.
OUR MOTIVATIONS
Most virtual reality is about looking. Remembering is about listening. By building a world based on sound instead of visuals we have created a place that relies on association rather than observation.
Part experiment, part art project, with Remembering we are researching the physical connotations and impact of sound in VR, an area in games that hasn’t been much explored yet.
In an effort to bring people in a more open receptive physical state, the game can be played lying down. This open, more vulnerable body posture helps the experience a become even more dreamlike. The connection between embodiment and sound in VR has been our main focus. Embodiment, or the sense of physically being somewhere, can be heavily influenced by sound. By connecting associative sounds to various forms of physical impact, we explore how sound can play a bigger role in the sense of being ‘here’.
CREATORS
Remembering is a close collaboration between various makers, working in an experimental context to create something unique:
- Monobanda (Bohm, DEEP VR) creates playful experiences that explore human expression & meaningful interaction.
- SonicPicnic (Rive, Awesomenauts) composes and produces music and sound effects for games & other media.
- Lizzywanders (Sentree, SimAntics) is an independent illustrator and game developer.
- Rik de Rooij is a 3D artist and programmer.
During the creative process every maker was challenged to work in disciplines other than their own. Audio designers became game designers, game designers orchestrated sound, technical artists visualized game flow and 2D concept artists built in 3D spaces for VR.
This collaboration resulted in a conceptual short form experience driven by sound.
Remembering has received funding from Creative Industries Fund NL/ Game Fund for its development.