Thread by @iBrews

Okay I think I've experienced as much as I can handle tonight for @sundancefest's #NewFrontier (it's been 45 min). About to post my learnings here to save you some headaches, tho hopefully some of what I've seen are bugs that will be resolved, or just me not knowing what to do 👇

First some compliments: the WebXR experience LOOKS beautiful (especially in VR) and is a lovely way to socialize... when it works. Most of the time I'm in an empty room even though there's a whole bunch of attendees here.

I do like the structure of how the rooms are broken down.

Some big picture framing up front: be in VR here to socialize (newfrontier.sundance.org & enter VR Code that you see on desktop), but don't expect to hop into any Gallery experiences directly. Signing up, downloading, or even setting up Quest view is wkflw best suited for desktop.

Some info via the great @kathrynyu:
-4 pieces require tethered VR
-3 require Quest
-The rest are web/mobile
-Rich Kids & 7 Sounds don't need tix, Tinker does.
-Everything labeled Jan 28 9p EST is on demand.

I appreciate that the time is automatically converted to local time!

Pros: Here's what a perfectly delightful social interaction can look like (audio muted for privacy but good quality). If you're in VR you get to use full gesturing & everyone can see it. On 2D browsers you can stream webcam, which looks very natural. Better than 3D avatar heads!

Cons: when delightful social interaction is abruptly ended and you're now so very alone.

Also: getting prompted a billion times WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENTER A CHAT ZONE? tho as a concept I've grown to appreciate how these prevent being overwhelmed by large gathering audio cacophony.

I'm curious if anyone knows more about these rooms. Is the intention to have a private conversation here, or is it just like the chat zones but simply away from the main crowd? Will anything actually play on the screen? Seeing a @BigscreenVR style WebXR film showing would be rad.

Look at that beautiful tree! And all that baked lighting! Running across all manner of devices and looking great in VR with no need for anyone to download anything. A harbinger of what many future virtual events will be like.

VR functionality, btw, includes snap turning & teleporting but no free locomotion option. Also the teleport button is also the 'click on a thing' button which can be confusing. MOST of the buttons bring up the quick menu to send you to different rooms. But how do I find a friend?

BTW, the experiences are organized by platform in the Gallery, which is kind of helpful except 360 VR is different from Quest 6DoF which is different from tethered 6DoF. I wish it was like #CannesXR and we could enter into experiences directly from here and pop back when done.

Sure, running around in a browser using WASD is great, but have you tried zipping around like a poltergeist with a grappling hook??

no I would not like to enter this room how do I close you?