Weekly Digest #1 — Week 45
Jump into the unknown.
This week has been a roller coaster of emotions, and I’ve never felt a stronger need for love and understanding in all parts of the world. From North to South America, from Western Europe to Maghreb, as we delve into uncharted territories, those virtual frontiers I’m referring to become clearer. But they also contain their own limits; and if we raise walls and borders, we’re also able to build bridges and ties.
No Direction Home
The first experience of the week is S.E.N.S : you are a man, lost in a giant black-and-white landscape. Magical arrows are popping here and there, and by following them, you fly above abandoned cities, deserted caves, and may find a way home and answers to unexpected questions.
Developed by ARTE Interactive, S.E.N.S presents itself as the first VR game designed from a comic book (by Marc-Antoine Mathieu). Its title comes from the French word “sens”, which interestingly means both “direction” and “meaning”. Its apparent randomness and contemplative actions reminded me of indie gems Fez and Journey.
Some advice may be found from the Pope himself, the fictional Cardinal Pie XIII played by Jude Law in the new mini-series by Paolo Sorrentino, The Young Pope. An AI developed by IBM Watson for the show analyses conversations on social networks, extracts messages related to “sins” like anger or envy, then responds to people using Bible verses accordingly.
But what if you wish to fully escape those torments of the physical world, and become…Invisible?
Directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow) and written by Oscar-nominated Melissa Wallack (Dallas Buyers Club), this is the first major scripted VR series, and one of the reasons I started this blog.
Tested on SamsungVR, the first episode is a brilliant immersive experience, that redefined the notions of mise-en-scène and editing I was used to. I’d even say it created a new profession: the editor/DP. Adobe is taking note.
S.E.N.S VR (Oculus, Play Store, App Store) — October 19th
AiMEN (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Dailymotion) for The Young Pope (HBO, Sky, Canal Plus) — October
Invisible (SamsungVR, Jaunt) — October 27th
