philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

How Burning Man VR rebuilt after Microsoft shut it down 

... The BurnerSphere, as it is now called, is being released in beta for both VR headsets and desktop PCs in time for next week’s Burning Man festival. ...

That even this community struggled to find a home in VR, and ultimately decided to go its own way, also tells you a lot about the friction that still exists in this medium, and the challenges companies need to overcome to have people buy into their vision of the metaverse. ...

Riding on a mutant vehicle

When you launch the BurnerSphere app on your Meta Quest headset, you’ll find yourself on a digital replica of Gate Road, the desert road leading to the festival. From there, you can watch a short VR documentary of immersive footage shot at Burning Man events in years past, or enter the festival itself through a series of interconnected portals. 

Some of these portals unlock showcases for Burning Man art, complete with information about each artist. Others let you watch additional short immersive videos, or explore different camps and squares. ...

I also got to see how BRCvr blends digital artifacts with real-life immersive video: When I entered a tent, its interior got overlaid with 360-degree footage of people hanging out in the real-life version of that tent, making it seem like I was in the middle of the action. ...

BRCvr tries to adhere to the same principles that guide Burning Man, which precludes it from selling avatars or using corporate sponsors — things that are often out of your control on another company’s platform. At the same time, there are significant costs associated with running BurnerSphere, which is why some content and experiences are reserved for members who pay an annual $48 “camp fee.” 

The plan, according to Demos, is to offer the more than 100,000 “burners” who attend Burning Man events every year a permanent digital home.  ...

“We don't know what's going to happen. But if the platform goes under, at least, we'll make it go under, not some corporation.”

See the full story here: https://www.lowpass.cc/p/burning-man-vr-brcvr-burnersphere-2025?_bhlid=4c09482a076a19b8a6cd8f3d4ea705be34493830&utm_campaign=burning-man-is-back-in-vr&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=www.lowpass.cc