Tag: Immersive Storytelling

  • Meet Tickle: The First iMyth Hero—A Trickster with a Heart of Gold

    Meet Tickle: The First iMyth Hero—A Trickster with a Heart of Gold

    What if laughter was a weapon? What if teasing could be an art form? What if the power of playfulness could change the world? Meet Tickle—iMyth’s first Hero, and a force to be reckoned with.

    Tickle bends reality with her own invention: tickle bending—a mysterious skill that makes people feel like they’re being playfully tickled, without ever being touched. Sassy, fearless, and sharp-witted, she turns every encounter into a game, using humor and mischief to outsmart even the toughest opponents. But beneath her cocky bravado lies a heart searching for something deeper—significance, connection, and a way to rise above her past.

    Born Thi Beiphong, Tickle’s early life was shaped by comparison—overshadowed by her sisters’ brilliance and abandoned by the people who should have loved her most. She reinvented herself, crafting a skill no one else could master, carving out an identity that was truly her own. Now, as the go-to problem-solver in the city’s underworld, she walks a fine line between chaos and heroism. She may be a trickster, but her ultimate goal? To make the world a little brighter, one laugh at a time.

    Tickle isn’t just a character—she’s an experience. And soon, through iMyth Heroes, you’ll be able to meet her yourself. Ready to step into her world and see what tricks she has up her sleeve? Join the adventure today.

  • Binaural Immersive Sound

    This is really cool. Folks are starting to re-discover a century old technique for recording immersive audio. Binaural sound duplicates the human head by recording with two microphones positioned 180 degrees from eachother. The microphone containers even look like squishy human ears. I’m not sure how important the human ear shape is but the sound quality is pretty impressive.

    This is a really exciting development in the realm of immersive interactive storytelling. Sounds plays a crucial role in the immersive experience which we has modern humans take for granted. Just look at some of the greatest movies with award winning sound. Folks don’t come out of the theater saying, “Gee, the sounds was remarkable.” They come out saying, “Wasn’t the cinematography amazing?” We are so hardwired in with our visual senses that when we have a truly immersive experience, we have no way of justifying it other than through vibrant visual stimulus.

    I have a strong feeling this is going to be one of the lynch-pins for immersive interactive storytelling.

  • AR/VR Blending With Leap

    While this is not really so much to do with Interactive Storytelling it is a development of one of the key pieces of technology which I have said is necessary for the truely immersive, Interactive Storytelling experience.

    I just found out about a new technology from Leap, (Not sure if this is Magic Leap or not?), that allows the user to see his or her own body withing the Immersive VR environment. Being able to see you own body, especially hands and arms assists with the immersive experience and places the user into the actual gameplay.  Not only does this give the user a contextual reference within the VR storyworld but also open the floodgate for endless GUI configurations. Long have a pondered how to provide sufficient GUI opportunities to the users without breaking the immersive experience. With this devise, the user’s body can now be the GUI.

    To understand the potential of this technology, look at this youtube posting from pewdpie. I am so embarrassed to be referencing this chuckle head. But he does give an excellent demonstration of where this technology can go to.

    This is really exiting stuff. I am so excited to start playing around with this and get things going.

  • Oculus Story Studio

    I never knew about these guys until today but they really seem to be on to something. I used to be a huge Imagineering wannabe. I still am. But now I’m an Occulus Story Studio wannabe!

    Oculus Story Studio

    In their introductory video, they introduce many of the concepts dealing with immersive technologies and storytelling. I am so glad they are working on these problems. It’s not as easy as “jump on to Maya, create a short and toss on an Oculus headset.”  The craft of visual story telling needs to be re-invented. Techniques such as the camera cut are no longer valid tools. Creative editing is no longer at the disposal to the crafty film director. New devices and techniques must be generated to not only pull the audience into the story world but provide sufficient reward for exploration that will keep them coming back for more.

    Note that these new concepts are not quite fully “Interactive”. The audience has limited control of the camera but nothing else. In my hierarchy of interactivity, groups such as Oculus are crafting the Second and Third perspectives of the interactive storytelling experience. The first perspective still has even more hurdles and barriers to overcome. However, if the the second and third perspectives are mastered then they will provide the platform upon which the first perspective is built.

    Really exciting times!