Multisensory location-based VR as a catalyst for social change (en)

Maren Demant, Jim Rüggeberg Wearing a HMD with a 360° video with spatial audio in the staged environment, smelling Indian incense sticks, and all of the sudden meeting this girl, who is telling her lifestory adressing the visitor directly, people begin to realize and feel the horrible setting they are actually present. An intense emotional shift. People seem not to be the same after they step out the installation. Our hope is, this experience will activate to stand up for people who are usually not being heard.  Multisensory location-based Virtual Reality within walkable and interactive experiences is a promising tool also for education, teambuilding, business and entertainment. Berlin based company Illusion Walk enables teams to discover and play together in thrilling environments. Our upcoming collaboration is to design an experience that encourages people playfully to collaborate. We are using techniques that we have learnt from earlier projects such as combining immersive theatre with VR and video game mechanics. “Auf der Schattenseite” can be currently seen at THE HAUS - Berlin Art Bang.