This is my first post in a series that will document the happenings and evolution of Social VR spaces. I’ve visited the MOR a few times now and wanted to share some photos and notes for posterity.
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The Museum of Other Realities is a virtual exhibit hall that houses immersive art from some of the top VR artists around the world. Also known as the MOR, the space fills with artists and guests once or twice a month on scheduled dates for the opening of new exhibits and to test updates in a private beta. On this visit I mostly focused on grabbing photos using the app’s delightful Spielbergian capture gesture (photo of the gesture below). In future visits I hope to have time to capture gifs and video since there’s a lot of depth and movement being left behind by the stills.
Upon logging in you are greeted with a handy 3D map. People on the second floor are shown higher off the surface of the table. The map is great for quickly meeting up with friends and seeing who else is currently in the museum.
Avatars are simple and can be customized with a primary and secondary color. The secondary color, along with name plate direction, gives a good sense of where someone is directing their attention.
A crowd gathered around the artist of these pieces @JohnOrionYoung who was discussing how they were sold and could be tracked via the Etherium blockchain. At the time of this photo it appears the JOYbot piece was worth 2.25 ETH / 950.72 USD. People also have an info icon by their name when you direct your gaze at them. You can then expand this into a bio and contact info on the person if they have set one, which was super useful for starting conversations or seeing who had created what exhibits.
Teleporting onto the back of one of the beasts will start an epic music track :) Exhibit by @NickTheLadd.
This piece by @DannyBittman feels about the size of a large table as you approach. Then, you teleport into it…
A lot of pieces in the MOR use this ‘teleport to scale’ feature to incredible effect. It really makes the space feel like a gateway to many different experiences rather than just a single space containing multiple exhibits. Transitions between scale are seamless and you can sometimes see larger avatars looming over you as they approach the piece.
Thanks to @vladstorm_ for hopping into this shot to provide scale, and possibly dabbing on the mystical forest orb.
A good side view of the magenta piece on the left that someone is about to teleport into.
Front view
Watching someone teleport in and explore the piece.
Another scene waiting to be explored.
I really like the style of this piece by @_naam. You enter through a door behind the rock into this cloudy scene.
This was the first piece I teleported into on one of my previous visits. A friend and I ended up finding a cabin after some time exploring the immense winter landscape. We were shocked when we walked through the cabin door and found it held a good amount of detail on the inside as well, including a fire place. More info on the piece by @lizaledwards here: https://lizedwardsvr.artstation.com/blog
This creature moves slowly around the room like a jellyfish, creating mesmerizing reflections and movements in its tentacles. By @Cabbibo.
Here you enter a dome that changes into different fractal patterns based on your movements.
The warping and swilring movements in this piece kept me staring for a while.
Its hard to appreciate the scale and 3D nature of this piece via a photo but it was one of my favorites. As you make eye contact with each of the skeletons in the room they let out their own unique taunt or cackling laugh.
The idle animations on these guys were terrifying. They have a little bounce in their stance like they‘re waiting to pounce and their hands swing forward toward you.
Secret owl is wise.
Really loved the color palette of this one.
You can capture photos in the MOR by holding your hands out in a framing gesture, like a director composing shots on a film set. There was also a runway exhibit (by @FlashBunny) where you could stand in a costume for long enough and then wear it around the museum. I chose the flower dress.
A piece by @samluckart that preserves the memory of her grandparent’s chalet where she would visit them growing up.
There was background / atmosphere audio once you teleport in that was gathered from footage Sam’s family had taken during their time at the house. It did a lot to bring the scene to life and help you imagine all the great memories the location holds.
A giant @NickTheLadd appears from outside the piece providing a reference for the scale change.
MOR info — including the artists and links to their work
I’m looking forward to documenting more Social VR spaces and also posting some older material I’ve stored but never shared, so give the blog a follow if that’s something you’re into.
