iMyth

Category: Uncategorized

  • Chris Roda

    Chris Roda, iMyth CEO

    Contact Information:

    Email: Chris@iMyth-x.com
    Phone: 301-614-2291
    Website: https://imyth-x.com/
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrisroda
    Facebook/X: www.facebook.com/chris.roda.33

  • iMyth Designer Position

    iMyth

    – Dare to live the adventure!

    Position: Designer
    Company: iMyth – Immersive Theme World Experiences

    Location: Remote, HQ in Orlando

    About Us
    iMyth is on a mission to revolutionize how people experience stories. We develop custom, interactive, immersive theme worlds and deliver them directly to users’ smartphones. Our experiences are rich, empowering, and unlike anything else in the world. If you are ready to push the boundaries of storytelling and technology, we want you on our team.

    Role Overview
    As a Designer at iMyth, you’ll fearlessly support our creative vision by researching and creating lush story worlds, dynamic characters, and addictive adventures. You’ll design new interactive features and work closely with programmers, technical designers, and artists to bring these worlds to life.

    Key Responsibilities:

    • Dive deep into existing story worlds, their histories, environments, and characters.
    • Create compelling new stories, characters, and activities that adhere to established story-world canon.
    • Design interactive features and work with cross-functional teams to implement them.
    • Develop emotionally driven storylines and adventures that captivate users.
    • Document and pitch new ideas, always keeping future possibilities in mind.

    Key Skills:

    • Strong understanding of immersive technologies, including AR and AI/ML models, to craft engaging characters and stories.
    • Proficiency in real-time engines, especially Unreal v5 (Unity experience is also valued).
    • Solid programming skills in Python and C#.
    • Effective communication and collaboration across departments.
    • Expertise in pitching ideas and story concepts.
    • Familiarity with basic real-time art pipelines.

    Attributes We Value:

    • Imaginative, resourceful, and fearless in creative exploration.
    • Passionate about maintaining presence and delivering entertaining content.
    • A team player who thrives on communication, empowerment, and excellence.
    • Driven by personal improvement, learning, and a commitment to simplicity and convenience.

    Success Vitals:

    • Develop the first story world, characters, and adventures for iMyth’s MVP.
    • Collaborate on the design and implementation of features that are simple and user-friendly.
    • Strategize for future story worlds and features, always thinking ahead.

    Why Join Us? iMyth is a place for those who want to break new ground in storytelling and immersive experiences. You’ll be part of a passionate, innovative team that values creativity, collaboration, and the courage to explore the unknown.

    Ready to Embark on a New Adventure?
    Contact Chris, (chris@imyth-x.com), to be part of iMyth’s groundbreaking journey to redefine immersive experiences.

    –Dare to Live the Adventure!

  • iMyth Technical Artist Position

    “Pre-teen interacting with iMyth Hero Character.”

    ? Technical Artist at iMyth

    – Dare to Live the Adventure!

    Location: Remote, HQ in Orlando

    About iMyth: iMyth  (Immersive Theme World Experiences) is a fearless leader in the world of immersive theme experiences. We specialize in developing interactive, custom worlds that empower and entertain users, delivering them right to their smartphones. At iMyth, we don’t just create apps—we craft experiences that blend technology and creativity to redefine what it means to be entertained.

    Position Overview: We are seeking a talented Technical Artist who will empower our development team to create world-class immersive experiences. You will play a critical role in mapping and implementing a robust Metahuman pipeline into Unreal Engine 5.4, integrating interactive animations, and architecting advanced pipelines that set the standard in our industry.

    What You’ll Achieve:

    • Pipeline Mastery: Map and document the full Metahuman pipeline into Unreal Engine 5.4.
    • Character Integration: Implement motion matching and interactive animation into Metahuman Characters.
    • Pipeline Architecture: Design and build a USD ‘complete’ Metahuman/Unreal Engine 5.4 pipeline.

    Key Skills:

    • Proficient in real-time art asset pipelines.
    • Collaborative communication skills with cross-department coordination.
    • Expertise in Real-Time Engines: Unreal v5 (preferred), Unity.
    • Programming Languages: Python, HLSL, C++.
    • Experience with Digital Content Creation Tools: Houdini, Maya, Blender, ZBrush, Substance.
    • Familiarity with USD (Universal Scene Description) is preferred.

    Key Attributes:

    • Proactive and Autonomous: Takes the initiative and thrives without micromanagement.
    • Empowering and Fearless: Always willing to take on challenges and enrich the lives of teammates and users.
    • Creative and Analytical: Thinks outside the box and breaks down problems into actionable solutions.
    • Team Player and Communicator: Supports team success and communicates effectively across the production team.
    • Obsessed with Excellence and Continuous Learning: Develops tools that solve problems before they occur and constantly strives for personal and professional growth.

    Responsibilities:

    • Communicate effectively with stakeholders.
    • Draft and execute action plans with time estimates.
    • Autonomously identify current and future problems and offer solutions.
    • Keep up with technological advances and software updates.

    Big 3 Goals:

    1. Successfully onboard to the iMyth art team and familiarize yourself with our unique pipelines.
    2. Design and implement character and animation pipelines to accomplish our first application.
    3. Master new technologies to architect robust, future-proof art pipelines.

    Why iMyth? Join iMyth to push the boundaries of what’s possible in interactive experiences. We offer an empowering environment, continuous learning opportunities, and a chance to be part of something truly groundbreaking.

    Ready to Be Fearless? If you’re ready to empower, entertain, and innovate, contact Chris, Chris@iMyth-x.com,  today!

    • Dare to Live the Adventure!

  • iMyth Programmer Position

    “Frustrated pre-teen waiting for a missed opportunity to interact with his favorite hero.”

    ? Programmer at iMyth

    – Dare to Live the Adventure!

    Location: Remote, centered in Orlando

    About iMyth

    iMyth (Immersive Theme World Experiences) is revolutionizing entertainment by creating interactive, custom theme worlds and delivering them directly to users’ smartphones. Our mission? To fearlessly entertain and empower the world through outstanding immersive experiences. We’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, and we need top-tier talent to help us bring our vision to life.

    The Role: Programmer

    As a Programmer at iMyth, you will play a key role in driving our technology vision forward. You’ll collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop cutting-edge application features, contribute to our AI/ML-powered Hero Engine Model, and be at the forefront of creating immersive, world-class digital experiences. This is not just a job — it’s an opportunity to shape the future of interactive entertainment.

    Key Responsibilities

    • Design and implement advanced features for iMyth’s immersive applications.
    • Collaboratively contribute to iMyth’s initial AI/ML Hero Engine Model.
    • Communicate effectively with artists, designers, and engineers in a dynamic, creative environment.
    • Stay up to date with the latest technological and industry trends to continuously push innovation.

    What You’ll Need to Succeed

    • Proficiency in C++ and Python.
    • Expertise with AI frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch.
    • Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5 and real-time engine development.
    • Experience developing for Android, iOS, and openXR platforms.
    • Strong analytical skills to identify, analyze, and resolve complex technical challenges.
    • Passion for efficient and effective code, with meticulous attention to detail.
    • A collaborative mindset with outstanding communication skills across all departments.
    • Obsession with personal growth, education, and development.

    Big 3 Goals for the Role

    1. Successfully onboard to the iMyth programming team and become familiar with our Hero Agent Model.
    2. Implement the Hero Agent Model and integrate it with iMyth’s application.
    3. Contribute to the development of world-class, entertaining, and empowering applications.

    What We Offer

    • A chance to work on cutting-edge immersive technologies.
    • A collaborative, growth-oriented work culture where innovation thrives.
    • Flexible working options (remote).
    • Opportunities to develop and expand your skills in a dynamic, fast-growing company.

    If you’re passionate about programming, entertainment, and innovation — this is your chance to make a real impact. Contact Chris, (Chris@iMyth-x.com) and be part of a team that’s redefining digital experiences.

    Ready to dive into a world of immersive possibilities?

    Dare to live the Adventure!

  • Physical Experience

    Physical Experience

    Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve contributed to the iMyth Blog site. It’s time to fire up the Furnace and get cooking again! This time it’s not about reporting about another article or another development but to support a concept that has pushed iMyth from the very beginning.

    iMyth is built on three tenets; Physical, Social and unrepeatable. I’m writing this article to support the first and third tenets, phsyicality and non-repeatability. The support for this comes from an article written by Harry Baker for UploadVR, Two-Bit Circus Maze.

    In Harry’s article, he talks about the Maze created by Treyarch/Ubisoft for the indoor amusement park of the future, Two Bit Circus. While this maze is nothing new or revolutionary, I really am drawn to two aspects about the article. The first aspect is that the maze was created with two facades; the mine/maze filled with skeletons and minotaurs and the second filled with iconic Rabids. The experience is basically the same except the experience can be a little more tame or less frightening, depending on the demeanor of the participant. iMyth has always supported an experience that changes dynamically in order to conform to the individual in order to provide them with a “rewarding” immersive experience. This will continue to be something iMyth focuses on. It is confirming to know that a funded immersive experience, Two Bit circus, also stands for the same concept.

    The second tenet, physicality, seems like an unintentional element at Two Bit but really seemed to capture the attention of the article writer, Harry Baker. To quote his article, “For me, I find VR experiences that intersect with physical space and location really interesting. When I’m playing VR, immersion is everything for me. The more immersed I am, the more I enjoy the experience. To be able to walk through a physical space and feel the walls, the wind and feel like I’m in an elevator made the experience notably better. Had I completed the maze in an open-plan room with no walls or physical alterations, it just wouldn’t have been the same.“

    I see this inclusion as further conformation that physicality is and will continue to be a significant contribution to the overall quality of an immersive experience. While I myself would not call the sensation ‘immersion’ but rather ‘presence’. Presence, as defined by philosopher Mel Slater, is the willful suspension of disbelief in the presence of an understood pretentious situation. Presence will continue to be an iMyth objective and physicalness will continue to be one of its primary focuses.

  • Steam VR Approaching House Scale Tracking?

    Steam VR Approaching House Scale Tracking?

    One of the Holy Grails to rise above the first generation of VR is to move from room-scale tracking to warehouse or house scale tracking. During the The Courier prototyping phase, the iMyth crew was able to extend the Steam VR Tracking to 20 feet by 20 feet. There were artifacts with this scale including dead zones and intermittent spotty coverage. I have been anxiously waiting the arrival of Steam Tracking 2.0. I though it would be available by last December however it is only just starting to show up with certain Vive Pro packages.

    To hype the release of the new Steam VR tracking, Vive China President Alvin Wang Graylin Twitted a video of seven new SteamVR 2.0 base stations hooked up to a single Steam account after a SteamVR beta update. Inside the video, a participant navigates continuously through three separate rooms and interacts with multiple tracked objects. Seven V2.0 Lighthouses were used to track the experience space. We have no idea what the viewing experience was like but it did not seem as if the participant was slowed by dropped coverage or dead zones. He even travels through closed doors.

    https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/1016992465742585857

    One of the really impressive aspects of this is that the group achieved a tracking area 67 square meters which more than double the recommended size of 25 square meters of the Steam Tracking 1.0. Here is the floor space schematic of the test.

    While currently being distributed, Steam Tracking 2.0 is still being developed and it will still be a while before technology at this scale reaches the consuming public. Evidently the off-the-shelf version of the trackers will only work with 4 trackers not 7 as reported by lead Steam VR Tracking developer Alan Yates. He confirmed that while it is possible to link 4 lighthouses at the moment, the released video is still prototype and a bit premature.

    Even though 7 Lighthouses is still not within grasp, I would still love to get my hands on 4 Lighthouses. Who knows? Maybe if the Lighthouses could be daisy chained in a linear sequence we could still achieve 75 square meters of tracked coverage. The imagination just spins!

  • Variety’s Location Based State of the Industry

    Variety’s Location Based State of the Industry

    Here is a quick synopsis of the the Variety article, Location Based VR.

    • The folks at Variety are very excited about the Void’s new Immersive Experience called “Curse of the Serpent’s Eye”, an immersive take on the Indiana Jones theme. It will premier next month and be the second installment after the Ghost Buster’s experience. Interesting enough The Void’s Co-Founder, James Jensen, identifies that the best immersive experiences are the ones with real, physical props. CEO, Cliff Plummer is very bullish on Immersive Experience being a draw back to Malls and Movie Theaters. He says, “The studios are looking for new revenue streams. We (the Void) have one, and it’s easy for them to relate to.” The Void has also been admitted to Disney’s Accelerator Start-ups.
    • 20th Century Fox President of innovation, Salil Mehta, agrees, “We believe that location-based VR will be the way that many people experience virtual reality for the first time. It’s an incredible opportunity for us to create industry-defining immersive experiences that can’t be replicated in your living room.”
    • FoxNext is developing an “Alien” immersive experience and has invested in on of The Void’s competitors, “Dreamscape Immersive“.
    • Lionsgate Interactive Ventures and Games president Peter Levin endorsed location-based VR wholeheartedly at the recent VRTL industry conference: “We are extremely bullish on it.”
    • Paramount unveiled an immersive experience supporting “Transformers: The Last Knight”.
    • Doug Griffin, from Nomadic, says, “We’ve heard over and over from film studios that location-based is becoming part of their strategy moving forward.”
    • It seems everyone is disappointed at the rate which VR has been accepted by the public. They see location based installment, similar to those in China, as being avenues which the average person can try out the newest VR experiences without having to plop down the money to get started in VR.
    • The Imax VR experience Center is taking a little bit of a different approach as it focuses more on individual pods for participants to experience instead of the complicated setups such as the Void. They have locations in Los Angeles and  New York will be opening soon in Toronto, Manchester and Shanghai. Imax is using these installments as a soft launch before embarking on a flood over 1000s of movie theaters.
    • Problems identified are throughput and the inevitability that home VR system will get better. Similarly there is the issue of price tag. Many of the experiences vary from $30 to $15 for a 15 minute experience. Nomadic’s Griffin thinks lower prices are key to taking location-based VR mainstream. “We want to bring this medium of entertainment to neighborhoods everywhere,” he says. “We don’t charge a price that is out of reach for those smaller neighborhoods and communities.”
    • Griffon also believes by creating Modular set pieces each location will need to go through very small down time shifting experiences.Nomadic’s Griffin thinks lower prices are key to taking location-based VR mainstream. “We want to bring this medium of entertainment to neighborhoods everywhere,” he says. “We don’t charge a price that is out of reach for those smaller neighborhoods and communities.”
    • Wisely, companies such as the Void realize that content is king and are creating pipelines for producing new experiences every 3 to six months. We’ll have to see how well that pans out 🙂 Smartly they are investigating the concept of creating persistent avatars and monetizing their product tie-ins with the avatars.
  • Follow the Money!

    Follow the Money!

    The Disney Accelerator class of 2017 was just announced and two of its newest partners are The Void and Epic Games. The details of these new partnerships have yet to be understood. Two things for sure are these relationships will include a three month mentorship in the Disney creative campus in LA and a financial investment.

    The Void has already established itself as a leader in immersive experience games. They have four operating installations open around the world. Epic Games is already a leader in the gaming world with its Unreal 4 Game editor. They have been an integral contributor to the ILMxLab Star Wars immersive experience demo.

    What Disney expects to gain from these strategic partners is anyone’s guess. They typically enroll much smaller fish for their yearly cohort. One thing that can be for sure is that Disney is very bullish on immersive experiences and is investing on two of the industries heavy weights. To me is sounds like a slam dunk for Disney and an indication that immersive/location-based experienced is where a large portion of future industry is headed.

  • SteamVR Next Generation Tracking Moves Forward

    SteamVR Next Generation Tracking Moves Forward

    SteamVR is busily working on its next generation of tracking. The most significant advancement is in the Lighthouse, the core component of VR tracking. SteamVR Tracking is accomplished with two of these lighthouses flooding the immediate sourounding area with vertical and horizontal tracking beams which interact with micro sensors. The old liighthouse base station required two rotors, one for the horizontal sweep, one for the vertical. The next generation of base stations aims to reduce the requirements to just one rotor which will generate both sweeps

  • Full Body Tracking

    Lat month, in December, iMyth Demonstrated full body tracking for its interactor using the Perception Neuron tracking outfit. It was an impressive bit of engineering to get the system up and working and coordinated with the Vive and UE4. For the prototype example this tech strategy worked well. The participant understood the interactor and there was never any “strong” concerns about the problems with the tech.

    Regretfully there were many Problems.

    1. The Perception Neuron was “sensitive”. Sometime it wanted to come out and play. Some days we could not get it to talk no matter what we did.
    2. IMU Drift. Because the Neuron suit was only implemented with IMU trackers the suit never really understood its world space location and the interactor kept drifting off.
    3. Spazzing out. Occasionally, the character was just sort of go into a seizure, freeze up or go a little crazy. For the prototype this was fine but we need a more consistent solution.
    4. Finger Tracking. Did the Perception neuron actually track the interactor’s fingers during the actual experience? Regretfully we never tested. I have a concern they did not work.
    5. The Perception Neuron Suit was actually owned by one of our Technical Producers, Andrew. We are very grateful Andrew allowed iMyth to use the suit. Regretfully the suite left when Andrew graduated.

    In Mid-December, I also attended journeyed to Seattle to get Vive Lighthouse training. The Lighthouse id the tracking technology Valve uses to track all of the objects in the environment. With this technology we could track an almost infinite number of objects and build our own Vive Controllers. I immediately started thinking about how we could use this technology to easily track the interactor and participant.

    It seems like a couple of other companies were thinking about the same thing. Steve Bowler at Cloadgate experimented with strapping Vive Controllers to his feet. He was able to get some pretty good results.

    Steve’s solution was a great first start. However it was a bit problematic since he required an entirely new Vive setup to get the controllers. He did not have any waist tracking, (Important for tracking overall body movement). Also, controllers strapped to your feet are a bit awkward.

    Now it seems like the folks at IKinema have taken things one step further and and created their own Vive tracker controllers which are mounted on the feet and waist.

    This demonstration looks really sharp and claim to have no post-processing. I believe them. However the imYth solution is still not quite there. Project Orion may still take some time to become commercially available. Their solution required two controllers, one in each hand. For iMyth I am seeking a hands free solution so we would require a tracking device on the wrists and eventually some IMU finger tracking. Ikinema is also a Motion tracking company so I I would not be surprised if we wanted their technology, we would also probably need to purchase a suite of re-targeting tools which would be overkill for what we want. I don’t know. I’d like to get in contact with the Ikinema guys and investigate their plans for release.

    So this leads ups back to iMyth creating their own tracking solution. I just received an email from Reid at Triad Semiconductor saying they just received the go ahead to produce the boards needed to create custom controllers. Those will be available in 8 weeks. This will be exciting since iMyth will not only be tracking the interactor and participant but multiple other participants and multiple set pieces and props as well. Very exciting times!