PLAYING BY THE RULES
Every medium brings with it a set of rules: a code between creator and spectators. In film, there exists the concept of the 4th wall, whereby the audience is for a brief moment acknowledged. Breaking such rules have the power to completely ruin a moment, or render it unforgettable.
LOOK BUT DON'T TOUCH
This is the first limiting rule of virtual reality. Hardware manufacturers have had time to work out kinks with immersive visuals and audio, but are rudimentary at best. This limitation presents a clear opportunity to subvert expectation.
LOOK BUT DON'T TOUCH
This is the first limiting rule of virtual reality. Hardware manufacturers have had time to work out kinks with immersive visuals and audio, but are rudimentary at best. This limitation presents a clear opportunity to subvert expectation.
How might we leverage experimental haptic technology to trigger acute onset immersion?
THE CONCEPT
Cosmic Sphincter places the player at the onset of creation itself: the Big Bang. Inspired by teachings of ancient Jewish mysticism, players navigate the 3 Veils of Negative Existence while pondering the etheric conditions that make life and matter possible.
The final Veil presents the user with a glowing orb amidst a backdrop of endless darkness. An interactive particle system aided by a head mounted hand tracking peripheral beckons the user forth.
The player doesn't know it yet, but there is a surprise in store. For this most pivotal moment we set out to not just break the 4th wall, but to crack it wide open.
Hidden within the installation is a custom built electro-stimulation device tracked in 3D space, air haptic blast system, and sonic transducer array to punctuate a single moment . All it takes is one fateful touch to bring about the formation of the cosmos.
