Jingle Ville Virtual Reality
Altspace World-Build 2020-2021
Medium: Tiltbrush VR
Creative Director / Story Designer: Juliana Loh
World Build + Technical Lead: Nicholas Liang
Social VR + Guest Collaborator: Andy Fidel (WinterWonderland - Get Social)
(Credit: Interactable elements: Nera)
ACHIEVEMENT:
As world build INFLUENCERS, we attracted over 1000 people to Jingle Ville within three weeks of opening our experience. Considering that the average regular visit per/day in altspace is 100 people, Jingle Ville did phenomenally well. The original file of our world including all the terrain was over 250 MEG. We are the first designers to optimized this world from 250 MEG to under 25 MEGS.
PURPOSE: To create a joyful world that brought the spirit of Xmas to people in Vancouver and around the globe. To increase mental health and well-being against a backdrop of soaring depression and anxiety rates.
SUMMARY: Jingle Ville was created in an unbelievably turnaround of four weeks starting in mid November and going live on December 21 2020. We celebrated the theme: "The spirit of xmas" as a way to help people find a place to "escape" the rainy, gloomy dark skies and shortened days of our pacific northwest coastal city.
ORIGIN: Months ago, I saw an image of a fire fly on my friend's site (thank you Jacki Morie). I had never seen a firefly in real life before and I was completely in awe of this little creature. It inspired me to share something that I knew would give wonder to the world. In November, covid-related social distance rules brought festive light celebrations to a close.
TECHNICAL SUCCESS: "They say that it couldn't be done - We proved them WRONG"
1) Optimized for viewing on Oculus 1
While tiltbrush assets have been added to altspaceVR, they have never been fully rendered and optimized to fit mobile VR standards and made accessible on the oculus quest 1. Nick was able to do this within a week without sacrificing the character and charm of each asset.
2) The world was created and optimized to 25 MEGABYTES.
Optimizing world builds to accommodate the altspace infostructure requires a detailed understanding of shaders. Very few people in VR are that accomplished at carrying out this task. When we completed this feat and shared this information to experienced world builders, they reacted with disbelief and astonishment.
We attracted over 1000 people to our world within three weeks. Considering the average regular visit per/day in altspace is 100 people, Jingle Ville did phenomenally well.
3) Completely eliminated Nausea by increasing refresh rates:
Our refresh rate stayed consistently between 40 fps and higher ensuring a smooth and comfortable experience for all our visitors. FYI the number of people visiting an altspaceVR world decreases refresh rates and thereby increases the likelihood for discomfort (dizziness).
While there were many tours made of Jingle Ville, this video created courtesy of my friend Catherine D. Henry is one of the best versions we have ever seen. Thank you Catherine!
"Jingle Ville celebrates that resilient spirit that beats within the hearts of every person who has ever believed in magic. It is the gift of joy, optimism, faith and above all, hope that is honored and revered. Jump into the marvelous world of Jingle Ville. Grab a cup of hot chocolate. Make a new friend and then sway to the beat of holiday music. This is the land where festive lights never fade and the conversation bright and joyful. Welcome to Jingle Ville."
Our world featured about a dozen unique creatures and beautifully hand painted buildings all inspired by cotswold cottages and bothy-styled architecture. Typically, I will scan through fb to see what catches my eye. In this case I spotted my friend Lindsay's show horses and added them to the mix.
Success:
1) In the three weeks that Jingle Ville was introduced, we were host to over 1000 visits with over 100 'favourites'. I personally offered several world-building tours along with workshops for educational institutions and/or private groups.
2) Our world attracted experienced world-builders, educators, theatreVR folks, performers, students, opera singers, burners and XR enthusiasts.
3) It was a privilege for us to meet some of the people I personally admire and see them exploring and enjoying our world. Knowing how much joy we brought to the global community and to be recognized as diverse creators in the VR/AR space was a very special reward.
Q. How did we entice people to return to our world?
A. We offered them photography 'souvenirs'.
We "hung" all the photos that we took of people in Jingle Ville to the giant 100 foot xmas tree within the world. Just like decoration bobbles, our visitors had to fly up and down the tree to view the images.
The result: it created little enclaves of 'communities' where people could point to their visits and share their experiences in a relaxed and playful manner.
You can see (below) souvenir photographs of visitors placed on the outside of the big tree. Inside the tree is the dancing mice that enticed people to learn how to fly. The concept of learning while doing/playing was a central theme in the design of Jingle Ville. For over four weeks, it made the 'favourite' list in altspaceVR.
The tour ends with a group photo or selfie opportunity with the giant blow up mouse. This was a very popular feature and an idea borrowed from theme park design.
Jacki Morie (firefly lady)
“Beautiful. I’d like to bring my students in”
“Beautiful. I’d like to bring my students in”
Greg Edwards (Designer and Pioneer behind Burning Man)
"A very unique aesthetic and an amazing world!
Roz McNulty: (Fashion Innovation Centre)
“I am still amazed and thrilled by what i saw. It was such a pleasure to see your artwork in person. It’s hard to explain to the real world. utterly fantastic’.
Charlie Fink: (Chapman University)
“One of the best worlds I’ve seen in Altspace aside from Burning Man”
“It’s the artists who provide us with a vision of what can be created with the software.”
“You painted this in 3 weeks? You built the entire world and integrated it all in 4 weeks?? WOW Astounding”
"You have a gift for teaching"
Andy (prominent altspaceVR world builder from UK)
“You went from zero to zen! Your work is charming and better than any other tiltbrush world I have seen in altspace. You are the masters of tiltbrush”
Krampus Crew (Deidre Lyons and team)
"Fabulous and beautiful world! You can create an immersive play in here right now!"
