Kent Bye is the man to speak to when it comes to all things immersive journalism. We all knew that. Back in 2016, a friend pointed his podcast out to me and I've been following it since. Although I've been lucky enough to be added to his write-ups especially as a participant in XR film festivals, I've never had the chance to just sit with him until now. Thank you Kent for helping me to fill my bucket list every time I am in search of 'wonder'. Your thoughtful approach to life embodies the gentle rub of a philosopher’s stone.
Over the past 5–6 years of painting in VR, my career has shifted from live VR painter to world-building architect, educator, and eventually creative lead for hybrid physical-digital XR projects like my own dance-choreographed XR piece. Working in VR has always been a dream of mine, though many of us found ourselves in niches that never took off as quickly as we hoped. Still, we persisted in creating new experiences, new activations, and new ways of imagining the world. We looked through a lens aimed at augmenting realities and shaping visions first seen only with our inner eyes; visions that gradually found their way into brands, marketing, games, installations, and immersive spectacles.
In my interview, I talked about the things that influenced me and what I felt worked for me over the last few years. I didn't just create worlds and installations... I helped to 'pioneer' them.
A few Features:
2019 Jingle Ville - first world representing an exhibit destination offering hand-painted architecture using Tiltbrush as the medium. Added first training modules based on a sequence of 'play while you learn' while offering the ability for people to collect souvenirs from the world using photos of people in the world to encourage re-visits. A world where we designed sensory experiments using the power of suggestion + storytelling to induce cold/warm sensations.
2021 Awaken the Giants - use of gaming and poetry to move people around space + design of perpetual scale and new representation of how art can exist in a VR environment. Incorporated a finding feature via interactive tracking device that enabled people to visually locate others in the world.
2023 - 2025
These are the ways I have already been making an impact in the world of spatial.
- Introducing the concept of 'themeparks' and entertainment pods within spaces to highlight how interactivity can serve story metaphors.
- Design and use of artwork on giant projector screens in the real world as public art offerings
- Changing people's perspectives on what constitutes public places vs traditional art museums
- Physical + Digital experiments using touch technology and choreography / dance as inspiration
- Integration of visual art style into game demos
- Continuation of live VR art painting to bring value to the art community.
- Layering of AR over exhibits to breathe new life into stories new and old.
The introduction of AI into my artworks came not as generative models, but as tools to open new pathways for artistic innovation.
.............
Contact Kent: If you would like to listen to more Voices of VR podcasts, please consider donating to his patreon link here: https://www.patreon.com/c/voicesofvr/posts
