Echoes Within takes Gold as a visually distinct, emotional and innovative VR experience. It reminds me of the projects we used to nominate for the VR Theater - leveraging VR to its fullest to tell a story that can’t be told any other way. In Echoes Within, multiple elements come together in unison to communicate one specific core idea: a distinct hand drawn art style representing the psyche of a little girl, sensory bombardment that is a signature of the condition and small but meaningful interactions that spark imaginative immersion - all used to truly embody a person with autism. No other medium can possibly achieve this, and Echoes Within delivers both in terms of choosing which immersion techniques to use and the artistic excellence that follows them - with a special shoutout for the technical art efforts like the hand-drawn shader and various sensory overload effects. One needs to be careful with the amount of sensory overwhelm a user can sustain in VR as on-screen effects are known to cause dizziness - but in this case the discomfort is part of the design objective. The video has a high production quality and it shows the viewer just enough about the experience to highlight the key features and leave them wanting for more, making it both a trailer and an excellent portfolio piece. One thing I would mention however is that the video never mentions the condition itself and might be confusing to a viewer without context. Echoes Within is a beautiful example of VR4GOOD and it brings the immersant an inch closer to understanding what autism is and how it affects people’s lives.

Congrats Linda!

Trained Observer takes the Silver as a high-fidelity, outstanding VR Simulation for real-world impact. The video blew me away - it was great to see the simulator used in real police training proving how effective it is. What I like most about Trained Observer is just how elegant of a concept it is and how much of a real world change it can bring in practice, serving as a reminder that sometimes simple is best. The video production quality goes above and beyond, showcasing both the real-world impact and a concise, clear demonstration of the app, making it a great portfolio piece. One avenue for improvement would be to make the transition between first and second half of the video as seamless as possible, because you can tell when the audio quality changes. I also want to praise the efforts for creating such a high-fidelity digital twin of the city which is an absolute must for a production-ready VR training app.

Bravo Eli!

Battington Manor takes the Bronze as an accessible, fun and visually appealing VR shooter for kids. There aren't many days when you see kid-friendly VR experiences so that alone is commendable! The game has a very well-defined, consistent art style that is a pleasure to look at and I appreciate the attention to detail with various destructible objects, volumetric fog and VFX. Core gameplay appears to be simple but fun, and bats AI appears to be quirky and diverse. One opportunity for improvement would be to make the gameplay less repetitive by introducing enemy variation, powerups and more types of destructible objects like explosives. I like that the video presents the experience in a professional and concise manner, showcasing various features and gameplay which makes it a perfect portfolio piece.

Well done Natasha!