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This was a quick experiment for a new viewing platform for existing content. VR theaters were one of the first apps to start coming out with consumer hardware. We even made a few of our own at DLab. What we wanted to do was something different, something that would excite viewers about more than just the content, and a potential new revenue stream for the company.
The concept was to create detailed and animated theaters specifically designed to go with individual movies or trailers. The action would be led by timecode in the movie or by user interactions with the content. Old movies could be made exciting again, and with the environment potentially creating new viewing experiences that would increase rewatchability.
For this demo we kept it extremely simple. We decided on a GearVR experience that would be short and portable. We found an old stereo 3D trailer for The War of the Worlds, and built a black and white 50’s style drive-in movie experience around that. As the movie played, viewers would be in the middle of their own alien flying saucer invasion.
My job was as the 3D artist and experience designer, and so I planned the overall experience, and created all the 3D assets and animation. Once the environment was built, we added gaze and timing triggers to fire off events, such as a flying saucer crashing nearby, and the concession stand behind the viewer being blown up by a death ray.
This demo was extremely popular when we took it on the road to show it off, people coming out of the experience loved the idea.