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DarthBuzzard

Banned
Jul 17, 2018
5,122


This is an hour-long (will be doubled in size in a few months) 'playable movie' in VR where you play the central character alongside a cast of professional actors acting as your squadmates as you go off on an adventure - and it's created entirely within the NeosVR social platform, which is kind of like if Dreams had multiplayer support.

The implications here are profound. Not even just from the user's stand point, but the idea of virtual actors and performers that exist solely within VR are going to be - and already are, a thing. As social worlds get more expansive and more persistent, it's easy to imagine simply travelling through a world and coming across stories on the fly where anything can happen, and VR is the only medium that can make you feel like you are the main character, so it presents a story that really empowers you with your fellow live actors filling in the role of NPCs and taking the story wherever you want it to go.

This is one of now several live roleplaying experiences, and I expect these will keep getting more popular as there's so much to explore.
 

BizzyBum

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,191
New York
VR is still in its infancy, pretty much. Games like this and the ideas it presents is cool stuff.

It will really get good once the visuals become more lifelike as the tech progresses.
 

pikachief

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,569
The concept is very cool to me, although I have found myself to be way too shy for any kind of rp personally, but I dont really understand the logistics?

if the other players are live actors, not just other players, is there only set times you can play? How many actors do they have available and how are they compensated? What is the realistic lifespan of something like this? What would its queue look like? How many people could even simultaneously play this?
 
Oct 29, 2017
3,527
Amazing concept, not sure why the engine looks like that though when we have games like Alyx that make it seem like this kind of tradeoff in visual fidelity is antiquated (I'm assuming budget, plus this looks pretty early in development?)

Excited to see what more comes of this, and I'm wondering how this would be played by thousands of owners of the same game as well if its live? I think it would make more sense for the game to have a multitude of scenarios and the game match-makes you with other owners of the game depending on the character/role they have selected. Having fulltime actors playing NPCs in a story seems unsustainable unless it's like, a reservation slot kind of thing that you have to make months in advance.
 

Cenauru

Dragon Girl Supremacy
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,096
I'd definitely be too anxious to roleplay with people I don't know, but it got me thinking of TTPG's with lots of roleplaying, but in VR, and I'm already dreaming about the possibilities now.
 
Oct 27, 2017
2,501
Henderson, NV
There's already a game that utilizes some of the 'live acting' experience on the Quest. It's called The Under Presents, and in my 30+ years of gaming, I've never experienced anything quite like it. I'm looking forward to this future, although I don't know how this trailer works at scale. Not sure how you can have a scripted/off-script experience for every individual player at any time. At least during The Under Presents, there's a very specific time period where the actors are online and you're 'interacting' with them. Even then, that interaction wasn't direct.

 

Admiral Woofington

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
14,892
I guess I have to ask, what are the incentives for the actors to play with you? Is there something breaking it down? Am I misunderstanding?

I just find it insane that a game is getting ready to have tons of actors ready to play with players, all being paid hourly wages, knowing the script, etc unless there's very limited spots?
 

BizzyBum

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,191
New York
I'd definitely be too anxious to roleplay with people I don't know, but it got me thinking of TTPG's with lots of roleplaying, but in VR, and I'm already dreaming about the possibilities now.

I think more people would be open to it because it's an avatar and not you personally in the game. Maybe that fact would lessen people's anxiety enough to give it a try.
 

trapt777

Member
Oct 25, 2017
552
Sounds expensive AF. This is effectively virtual live theater where you are a participant. Who is paying all of these actors?
 
OP
OP
DarthBuzzard

DarthBuzzard

Banned
Jul 17, 2018
5,122
The concept is very cool to me, although I have found myself to be way too shy for any kind of rp personally, but I dont really understand the logistics?

if the other players are live actors, not just other players, is there only set times you can play? How many actors do they have available and how are they compensated? What is the realistic lifespan of something like this? What would its queue look like? How many people could even simultaneously play this?
Generally for this sort of thing, it's a set time. I know The Under Presents Tempest does 4 hour shifts every day - they get paid and are scheduled to perform for a 10 month period. I have no idea if the actors in the above experience get paid or if they do it as a hobby though.

Queues, well this is where you'd have to start scaling out to a lot of actors if you want lots of sessions going on at once.

For this experience, you have roughly 4 players (3 act as muted drones) and 3 actors. The Under Presents has one actor and 6-8 players.
 

Dice

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,729
Canada
I definitely think, when it's more capable, it's going to dominate a lot of "gaming" in the future.
 
OP
OP
DarthBuzzard

DarthBuzzard

Banned
Jul 17, 2018
5,122
Amazing concept, not sure why the engine looks like that though when we have games like Alyx that make it seem like this kind of tradeoff in visual fidelity is antiquated (I'm assuming budget, plus this looks pretty early in development?)

Excited to see what more comes of this, and I'm wondering how this would be played by thousands of owners of the same game as well if its live? I think it would make more sense for the game to have a multitude of scenarios and the game match-makes you with other owners of the game depending on the character/role they have selected. Having fulltime actors playing NPCs in a story seems unsustainable unless it's like, a reservation slot kind of thing that you have to make months in advance.
Well, this social platform was made by mostly one guy - that's why.
 
OP
OP
DarthBuzzard

DarthBuzzard

Banned
Jul 17, 2018
5,122
There's already a game that utilizes some of the 'live acting' experience on the Quest. It's called The Under Presents, and in my 30+ years of gaming, I've never experienced anything quite like it. I'm looking forward to this future, although I don't know how this trailer works at scale. Not sure how you can have a scripted/off-script experience for every individual player at any time. At least during The Under Presents, there's a very specific time period where the actors are online and you're 'interacting' with them. Even then, that interaction wasn't direct.

Yeah, shout out to Under Presents. I feel like the abstract nature of it can be hard for some people to grasp the potential from a video. I also just really like how MetaMovie exists in a generalized social VR space. I know Under Presents is also a social space, but it's more narrow focused on it's story and world and isn't meant to be like an early metaverse concept the way Neos is.

Did you try the Tempest play yet? It's their dedicated immersive theater event in Under Presents.
 

Feep

Lead Designer, Iridium Studios
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
4,624
I have no idea how this can work. I've designed an Escape Room or two and even using a *single* actor is very cost-prohibitive, though it can be done depending on the economics.

It might work as a "gig economy" type thing for actors working from home, but it'll be very hard to guarantee any sort of consistent experience that way.
 
Oct 27, 2017
2,501
Henderson, NV
Yeah, shout out to Under Presents. I feel like the abstract nature of it can be hard for some people to grasp the potential from a video. I also just really like how MetaMovie exists in a generalized social VR space. I know Under Presents is also a social space, but it's more narrow focused on it's story and world and isn't meant to be like an early metaverse concept the way Neos is.

Did you try the Tempest play yet? It's their dedicated immersive theater event in Under Presents.
Is Neos something on that RIFT? I'd be curious to try it. I can't keep up with all of the social platforms available anymore. Seems there's a new kickstarter every day. With the Quest 2 coming out soon (I suspect tomorrow), these experiences are just going to get better and better.
 

Ashes of Dreams

Fallen Guardian of Unshakable Resolve
Member
May 22, 2020
14,737
Amazing concept, not sure why the engine looks like that though when we have games like Alyx that make it seem like this kind of tradeoff in visual fidelity is antiquated (I'm assuming budget, plus this looks pretty early in development?)
You basically just asked why doesn't every video game look like The Last of Us Part II? Come on.
 
OP
OP
DarthBuzzard

DarthBuzzard

Banned
Jul 17, 2018
5,122
Is Neos something on that RIFT? I'd be curious to try it. I can't keep up with all of the social platforms available anymore. Seems there's a new kickstarter every day. With the Quest 2 coming out soon (I suspect tomorrow), these experiences are just going to get better and better.
It's available from Steam, so is accessible to any headset that can connect to PC. It's free and is basically like VRChat but with scripting abilities inside the game.
 
Oct 29, 2017
3,527
You basically just asked why doesn't every video game look like The Last of Us Part II? Come on.
Lol come on that's not at all what I asked. And I'm not really calling out this game specifically, as 90% of VR games look like they're straight out of the 360/PS3 generation. Clearly Valve have the resources the throw at the visuals but all I'm saying is it seems like there's consistently a massive gap in image quality between most VR games coming out and Alyx, with not much in between.
 

Ashes of Dreams

Fallen Guardian of Unshakable Resolve
Member
May 22, 2020
14,737
Lol come on that's not at all what I asked. And I'm not really calling out this game specifically, as 90% of VR games look like they're straight out of the 360/PS3 generation. Clearly Valve have the resources the throw at the visuals but all I'm saying is it seems like there's consistently a massive gap in image quality between most VR games coming out and Alyx, with not much in between.
Because Alyx is a AAA VR game designed to be the best one yet. More VR devs are small indie teams. It really is like asking why an indie game doesn't look like TLOU2.
 

Mindfreak191

Member
Dec 2, 2017
4,793
I was actually once in hiring talks for a VR acting gig, I was gonna be in a "Bank robbery" experience, but they were making the experience in a less known "chat" client, I forgot the name but it definitely wasn't VRchat, the problem was it ran like shit most of the time (which was due to bad optimization by the worlds creator) so I had to drop out of the project since back then I was running VR with a 1060 in a laptop, I wonder whatever happened to that, but to answer everyone's question, I was offered (not guaranteed) about $100-$150 per day of performances with possible additional funds coming from donations, so it's not bad, but not great either, but this was 2 years ago, and I've been honestly thinking of creating something in VRchat. Mind you this was just one experience, it is very likely that none of the actors are paid.
 

Cats

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,929
We do this sometimes in VRChat. Obviously nothing ever this in depth because 90% of randoms don't play along, usually just silly stuff. It's dumb fun.

I've debated on making a more serious map for it since Half Life VR was so awesome, but I'm too lazy.
 

Penny Royal

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,158
QLD, Australia
This sounds like its the same as " 'racting " in Neil Stephenson's The Diamond Age.

A set scenario, some professional actors playing some roles with scripted lines (basically the equivalent of NPCs), and paying customers performing in other roles.
 

TissueBox

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,135
Urinated States of America
Imagine you're at the emotional, dramatic climax. Then suddenly,

"Horace, the baby."

"Hold on, guys. Yes, dear, I'll be there! Anyways."

"Horace."

"NO! How could he have done this. How?"

"Horace."

"The light beams... but the satellite was destroyed! There's no way--"

"I'm about to show you a light beam if you don't take care of the damn baby, Horace!"

THE END, starring Horace, Horace's wife, and the baby, Horace. Just go get the baby.

I'm interested in dis and how this pans out. No matter how seriously it gets taken or not-so-seriously, the concept is an exercise in fun narrative experimentation. NeosVR, may you blossom and unfurl like a tender peel. Or flower. Or.. very dry skin.
 
Oct 29, 2017
3,527
Because Alyx is a AAA VR game designed to be the best one yet. More VR devs are small indie teams. It really is like asking why an indie game doesn't look like TLOU2.
Clearly Valve have the resources the throw at the visuals but all I'm saying is it seems like there's consistently a massive gap in image quality between most VR games coming out and Alyx, with not much in between.
 

exodus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,958
The Under is making me want a Quest. I really wish I could just get it on my Rift. :(
 

KDR_11k

Banned
Nov 10, 2017
5,235
I'd definitely be too anxious to roleplay with people I don't know, but it got me thinking of TTPG's with lots of roleplaying, but in VR, and I'm already dreaming about the possibilities now.
I think that would be difficult as the GM could no longer describe stuff to you but would have to show you things and those cannot be made up on the fly.
 

brain_stew

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,754
I really don't understand the business model for something like this? Decent actors aren't cheap and hiring 3 for an hour is going to cost more than a single game purchase for an experience you can only experience once.

It has no appeal to me but I can understand the appeal to some I just don't fit understand how the economics can possibly work at scale.
 

StereoVSN

Member
Nov 1, 2017
13,620
Eastern US
Heh, no, but we've already had several attempts at making the Metaverse, right?
True, kind of bad ones but give it 10 years I guess. Oh, and I can absolutely imagine Kim Jong-Un reading Snow Crash, becoming strangely obsessed with it and riding around in Russian Ural with a nuke.

Diamond Age concept of education and the dystopia world though is kind of getting over to reality then I would have thought even 5 years back.
 

Grue

Member
Sep 7, 2018
5,010
Very cool.

Definitely a new form; more a cross between games and theatre than games and movies, due to the limitations of requiring live actors. I can see a world where this becomes an 'event activity'.

On a related note, what I'm really interested in is when these tools get good enough to allow players (rather than the actors) to control the story / environment in significant ways.

At that point, I think role-playing games get a new medium to explore. They've been through pen and paper, tabletop, LARP, and videogames (thinking of Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2) - but a high quality toolset which allows someone to be a meaningful GM in VR would be something exciting.
 

Alex3190

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,128
Why not give other players lines and a story to help guide the main player?

Maybe a voting system on how great their acting is?