As I dived deep into the world of virtual reality, I realised things about myself and about life that never occurred to me before. It has truly been a life changing experience. I found places beyond anything I could ever imagine, both internally and externally. I found peace, quiet and a never-ending flow. I found places to meditate, places to learn, places to meet, places to play and even places to work. But above all I found new perspectives. I could move freely between the birds-eye view and the maggot view and back into my own view. Perspective changes everything and is in my opinion one of the most powerful tools to give the human mind. In many ways I believe, without knowing, the experience of new perspectives in virtual reality is much like that of a psilocybin trip. Mental note: I need to try that.
As I got in touch with more and more players in the field of virtual reality, I got more and more frustrated, because most of them don’t have a clue about this potential. Most companies and individuals developing for virtual reality try to mimic the real world. Why would you do that?! Every application for meetings, conferences and work looks and acts this way. All of them without exception. And there are hundreds, maybe thousands. If you look at games, entertainment and interactive movies it is a way better situation. I’d say that at least 50% of those experiences are exploring and utilising the potential of perspectives and freedom from the physical world.
I started to outline and develop a concept for my own startup, Ambivrt, to make something entirely different. At the same time I engaged with the few peers I felt shared my passion and views on the potential of virtual reality, both locally in my country and globally. More and more I realised that I needed another virtual reality project to cross-feed into my business development process and the game concept S:elf was born. The game development process let me think freely about allt the visual, narrative, psychological and interaction possibilities and as I had hoped, it helped the more serious business development In a big way. What I didn’t see coming was the sheer scope of developing a virtual reality game (or any game for that matter). Story, interaction, visual design, coding, modelling, animation, sound, music and that’s just the start. Ambition is high and rising and that’s why this book is not only necessary but vital to the success of S:Elf. It will be the foundation of a brand new world created by me, the Ambivrt.
Ambivrt AB 