You might have noticed my publishing output has waned over the last couple years. My last major publication was a novel, Mage Tech Duet, a scifi/fantasy hybrid. That’s because I’ve been exploring other creative outlets, such as video game programming. My latest hobby has been Meta’s Horizon Worlds, a sandbox application for creating VR games and art.
Over the weekend, I published what’s called a hub world, “Vulture’s Nest,” to provide easy access to my VR creations and collaborations. This will be updated as time goes on, just like a website. Now, whenever I make a new game/art/whatever, I can drop just a single door into that world, linking back to this one, so visitors can explore other ones. Here’s a video of what it looks like:
I’m not sure where my publishing “career” is headed, if I even had one. I’ve been submitting stories for publication, performance, and production for over 30 years now, and I’m burnt-out. So I’ve decided it’s okay to have other creative pursuits. I have to do it for my psychological health. So I don’t know what’s next: another video game, a song, a piano performance, a dramatic performance, a painting, or more fiction. It depends on what tickles my fancy and what you ask for.
Look for a website redesign in 2022, plus more unpredictable creations and some minor publishing news. C’est la vie!
Another fun little acting job in VR!
Filmed in Horizon Worlds by Jay “Sensei_Jay” Haynes.
Tips & tricks learned on the set of “Horizon Hipsters”
Here is a great behind-the-scenes video/tutorial about filming in the metaverse. Jay (Film Sensei) included my speech during the wrap party about VR-specific acting techniques.
Film Sensei Productions has premiered The Horizon Hipsters, a short experimental film shot entirely in virtual reality. I helped Jay Haynes and Aaron Sorrels write the screenplay, and I starred in the lead male role through my “Vulture667” Horizon Worlds avatar.
By using the Horizon Worlds building tools and its shared VR experience, this film represents a new method for no-cost motion capture and location scouting, plus a convenient way to coordinate filming with actors not in the same location. I look forward to more such projects with Film Sensei Productions this year.
Without further ado, here is The Horizon Hipsters!