The MetaMovie's
Alien Rescue

SYNOPSIS
In Alien Rescue you play a character hired by a team of alien-rights activists to help them rescue a rare and dangerous creature from captivity. You must break into the Kelosite Research Facility, avoid being caught, killed or eaten, and try to accomplish the mission. Along the way you’ll explore the massive lab, you’ll use your wits to outsmart the Artificial Intelligence security system, and you’ll have the chance to determine where the story goes and how it ends. However, Alien Rescue is not simply a thrilling adventure: you will also have to confront the challenging ideological debate around vivisection and animal rights, and ultimately you will have to choose sides and determine where your loyalties lie.

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CAST
Alien Rescue features five live actors, all professionals with years of VR acting experience. They are located across the globe, from New York to South Africa, Kansas to Connecticut. This troupe has been working closely together for nearly three years. See the Credits page for more information.

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RUNNING TIME
Alien Rescue is a live performance that usually runs between 70 and 80 minutes. Because every show features a new Hero who’s actions are wildly unpredictable, show times vary.

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HERO AGENCY
Alien Rescue puts one audience member right in the center of the story, where they role-play with the cast. Heroes can say or do anything they want, and they can even affect the story.

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STORY BRANCHES
Jason and his cast have created a live experience that is flexible and can adapt to Hero choices. While the story is rooted in traditional cinematic story techniques, there are branching storylines and special scenes that are unlocked by Hero choices along the way. As part of the MetaMovie experimental mission, the cast continues to explore novel ways of running the show, using once a month ‘experimental shows’ to test new branches, story mechanics, and fresh ideas.

 

SIDEKICK AGENCY

Audiences come in different flavors and not everyone wants the spotlight. Audiences seeking a more passive experience play as tiny Eyebots who don’t speak but do have agency - more than is obvious at first glance. They can utilize an intuitive “flashing lights” mechanic to ‘talk’ to the cast using red, green or yellow flashes of light that glow on their avatar. In this way, Sidekicks can ‘support the mission’ by scouting, warning, and otherwise alerting the Hero. And, some parts of the story can only be unlocked through Sidekick actions.

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ASYMMETRIC SHARED LIVE EXPERIENCE
Alien Rescue is built specifically for PCVR, but also offers Sidekicks the option of a desktop experience. Using any modern PC and headphones, users can ‘go to the movies together’ even if they are situated all across the globe. Desktop users and VR users can be together at the same time, in the same show, creating a unique asymmetrical experience. For the VR curious, this is an excellent introduction to the magic of immersive worlds in VR.

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VIDEO GAME MECHANICS
An avid gamer, Jason has created a health, weapon, and damage system into the Alien Rescue experience in order to create deep immersion and a ton of fun. Characters wield the D.O.V.E. plasma pistol in order to protect themselves from the dangers lurking in the Kelosite Research Facility. Using a health and damage system, Heroes can cause damage or even kill just about anything or anyone. But it works both ways, and Heroes quickly learn that sometimes it’s more prudent to take a non-violent route.

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DEEPLY IMMERSIVE MAPS
With seven large and detailed maps (game lingo for levels, or areas of a world) Alien Rescue immerses audiences into a dark and spooky sci-fi environment with barely-lit passageways, creepy labs, and eerie soundscapes. The crown jewel is the incredible Blackhawk Spaceship, at 160 meters long (nearly two football fields) and 55 meters high, with four levels and over twenty rooms. And, our maps are all connected using a custom programmed ‘instant teleport’ system that reduces load time from one map to the next to zero seconds. Audiences traverse the world of Alien Rescue seamlessly and instantaneously, without the typical “loading screen” found in most VR games and experiences.

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HTC EYE AND FACE TRACKING
All actors in Alien Rescue utilize the HTC Vive Pro Eye headset which features eyetracking, and they utilize the newly released Facial Tracking device, also by HTC, which tracks the lower face. These added expressions bring their avatars to life. The subtle shifts of eyes, a blink or a wink, a slight grin or a strong grimace: these are the tools of an actor and our cast uses them to create passionate and memorable dramatic and comedic performances.