We've tried out the new deadmau5 VR Cardboard app
Deadmau5 (a.k.a. Joel Zimmerman) teamed up with Absolut Labs -- the vodka brand’s experimental marketing arm -- to create a very unique Google Cardboard 360-degree VR experience.
In a statement from Afdhel Aziz, Director, Absolut Labs, Aziz says, "With Absolut deadmau5, we’re continuing our ongoing exploration of nightlife, using virtual reality as a canvas to create an epic, cinematic journey that celebrates spontaneous, adventurous nights out – that you can experience anytime, anywhere, anyplace."
Mashable’s Creative Producer Sam Sheffer and I had the opportunity to try out the Absolut deadmau5 experience, which was surprisingly refreshing and fun. I put on a pair of headphones and connected it to my iPhone (also works with Android devices). The game begins in Zimmerman’s beautiful home studio as he’s finishing up a track.
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There is no interactivity here, just observation as Zimmerman wraps up a couple of things in his studio.
However, the next phase is a fully interactive CGI third person view of a computer-generated Zimmerman wearing his mouse head and wandering through his garage of luxury automobiles.
Zimmerman’s cat Meowingtons is your guide. By pointing your head and hitting a button carved out of the Cardboard (which ingeniously taps your device’s touch-screen) you can freely wander around the space. Meowingtons eventually leads you out of the garage door and into a black SUV.
Your head is now steering a black SUV down the highway in front of a Toronto sunset. At this point you can start to see where the evolution of simple VR Cardboard experiences are headed -- part game, part experience - and we like it.
It seems that Zimmerman is late to his show and for some reason the security guard doesn’t want you in. This great little sequence turns into a simple Tap Tap/Guitar Hero style challenge. Using the button on the cardboard you slowly turn the situation into a back alley dance-off and sneak past the guard.
Once in the club you can bring Zimmerman to a few fans and then head to the stage where the interface switches back to a live action 360-degree live show.
I’d love to try this a few more times and see if there are some more easter eggs hidden in here.
Fans can pre-order the custom Cardboard headset now at www.absolutdeadmau5.com and starting July 27 the Absolut deadmau5 app will be available for download on all major platforms, including iOS and Android.
You can watch our Facebook Live video chat from Thursday, June 30.
Check out this behind the scenes video reel:
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Topics Virtual Reality
