Virtual reality applications tend to focus on the experience of an individual, creating an immersive experience that practically separates the user from the real world. VR Playspace strives to achieve a collaborative hybrid VR experience by integrating multiple VR players and live spectators into a cooperative game. In the game prototype Cargo, two VR players control a spaceship on its way to deliver valuable supplies to a remote space station. Developed specifically for the Ars Electronica Center’s Deep Space, the game utilizes laser tracking and mobile VR headsets to allow two players to freely move about and defend their spaceship. Spectators can also join the action by entering the tracking space and becoming collection drones that accompany the spaceship on the way to its destination.
Credits: Playful Interactive Environments, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria Team: Daniel Rammer, Lorenz Krautgartner, Georgi Kostov, Jeremiah Diephuis
