VR and AR in Leicester
Tue, 29 Oct 2019
On Saturday 19th of October at Phoenix in Leicester, there was a showcase of local Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality producers that featured work by MBD, NSC Creative, DMU Institute of Creative Technologies, CATS are not PEAS and Ben Fredericks.
The showcase demonstrated the wealth of VR talent in Leicester and I think we can justifiably say that the city is something of a Virtual Reality hotspot. What's more, the type of work being produced is interesting, with a strong emphasis on narrative and performative work.
As part of a short discussion after the showcase, I spoke a bit about the history of VR locally and mentioned the VR exhibition I organised at Loughborough University way back in 1993(!) as well as Leicester's place VR history through the pioneering work of VR arcade game company W Industries / Virtuality, that was based nearby in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
I hope to organise a bigger event in the not too distant future. Until then, you can find out more about Leicester-based VR producers on the Leicester VR/AR Creators Facebook Group. Pictures from the showcase can be found at /interact2020/leicesterxr.html.
