Learning to Play with Reality: Launch Pad 2021 Takes a Lesson From Goliath

The Oculus Launch Pad 2021 program kicked off last month with its signature Boot Camp event, featuring live workshops, pre-recorded sessions, and a variety of networking opportunities. Among the unique sessions hosted at this year’s event was an exclusive talk with May Abdalla (Anagram⁠), Co-Director, Writer, and Executive Producer of Goliath: Playing with Reality⁠.

In her own words, “Goliath is an exploration of what it means to experience someone else’s reality. Goliath follows the true story of a man with a troubled upbringing who is diagnosed with schizophrenia. He is taken into a psychiatric hospital where he spends several years on strong medication, mostly in isolation during which time he loses his parents. On his release, he finds connection through playing online multiplayer computer games. Combining candid conversations, mesmerising animations, and tactile interactions, enter Goliath’s world where you slip between real and unreal worlds. The project explores what it means to feel at odds with the world and through shared realities, find one’s place within it.”

May provided the newest Launch Pad cohort with an in-depth look at the making of Goliath, including key learnings when creating experiences in VR and working with sensitive subject matter. Watch the full talk below to experience one of the unique sessions offered during Boot Camp this year.

Goliath: Playing with Reality⁠ is a 25-minute virtual reality experience by the award-winning creative studio Anagram⁠, in co-production with Floréal Films. It is written and directed by May Abdalla and Barry Gene Murphy, and narrated by Tilda Swinton. It has been made with the support of Oculus VR for Good; the British Film Institute (BFI) awarding funds from the National Lottery; Creative XR, Digital Catapult and the Arts Council England; Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée; StoryFutures Academy; and developed thanks to La Biennale di Venezia - Biennale College Cinema VR. The experience premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury Prize for Best VR Immersive Work, and is available in the Oculus Store⁠.

Oculus Launch Pad is a program designed to support promising VR content creators from diverse backgrounds as they iterate on their unique ideas and bring them to market. The program places a strong emphasis on promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the developer community and across the application content developed. Participating program members are provided hardware, hands-on training, and access to industry experts. If you’re interested in applying for the 2022 Oculus Launch Pad program, visit /launch-pad/ for additional information; applications can be submitted beginning in Spring 2022.