A Belfast games company has won the chance to develop an immersive prototype through a UK wide competition. Boom Clap Play will develop “When Something Happens”, described as an epic journey through the history of the cosmos and will have the opportunity to pitch it to CreativeXR partners including the BBC, Sony and Google.

In total Digital Catapult and Arts Council England have selected twenty Creative XR teams to receive support in developing innovative immersive prototypes and projects. CreativeXR is a new programme enabling the UK’s arts and cultural sector to lead the field in immersive content creation and digital innovation. The winning teams will will benefit from access to immersive labs and virtual, augmented and mixed reality expertise and will have the opportunity to pitch at a final showcase and market in March 2018, which will be attended by partners including Google, BBC, Sky, Sony, ARTE, HTC Vive and many more.

The competition was set up to support the development of new creative content formats enabled by immersive (virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR)) technology and give teams the platform to focus on R&D and develop riskier, content-driven projects that contribute to developing new skills, tools and business opportunities.

CreativeXR received over 1,000 registrations of interest and over 250 applications for its Open Call, demonstrating the appetite for the programme among both the UK’s immersive content community and more broadly across sectors and communities, from theatre to art, music, education, and gaming.

The 20 successful applicants have been offered up to £20,000 of funding to develop their immersive prototype, alongside workshops with industry leaders to help with key elements of concept development. They have also been granted access to Digital Catapult Immersive Labs in London, Brighton, North East Tees Valley and Belfast.

Among those selected are a project that promises a spectacular immersive experience exploring beauty from autistic perspectives; a historical VR experience which allows users to step into history; and augmented reality designed to unchain theatrical barriers.

The following 20 teams were selected to join the programme:

  • Beholder by BOM (Birmingham Open Media), Birmingham: An immersive experience that explores beauty from autistic perspectives.
  • Coast AR by Immersive Storylab, Liverpool & Manchester: A mixed reality experience that will enhance the UK Coastline through story, myth, fantasy and heritage.
  • CODA by Aardman Animations Ltd, Bristol: A story-led VR experience that blends fairy tale, music and gaming.
  • Fatherland by Limbik, Norwich & Portsmouth: An interactive theatre experience bringing real-time motion capture and VR technology to the art of storytelling.
  • Immersive Histories by All Seeing Eye Ltd, Stroud: An immersive VR experience allowing an audience to physically step into history.
  • Leviathan Legacy by Plymouth Arts Centre, Plymouth: Rising sea levels, interplanetary travel and aquatic worlds: Leviathan Legacy.
  • London’s Got Character by Figment Productions, Guildford: An Augmented Reality experience bringing London’s cultural history to life through its vibrant literary, artistic and historical characters.
  • Municipal Dreams by VR CITY LTD, London: An immersive journey into the complicated history of the notorious Aylesbury Estate.
  • Open Space by Roomsize, Bristol: Be immersed within an invisible ensemble of musicians, who create an ever-changing musical texture around you.
  • STEIN by Hammerhead, Gateshead: A VR crime thriller solving cold cases throughout British history.
  • Symphony of Noise by UP Creatives, Brighton: Immerse yourself into sonic-landscapes – ‘Listen differently’ to reveal the music hidden in our world.
  • The Collider by ANAGRAM, Bristol: Navigating across a virtual divide, you and a partner find each other.
  • The Conductor by Interplay Theatre, Leeds: An immersive digital exploration of the human senses and nature.
  • Theatrical Reality by Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London: A magic mirror to unchain theatrical barriers using augmented reality technologies.
  • Three Lights by Third Lighter Ltd, London: An immersive, narrative driven, VR learning experience designed for the museum sector.
  • Traitor by Pilot Theatre, York: A two-player interactive high stakes thriller, combining VR with live action.
  • When Something Happens by Boom Clap Play, Belfast: An epic journey through the history of the cosmos.
  • Winter VR by Metro-Boulot-Dodo, Leicester: A poignant story of love, music and loss set against a beautiful arctic landscape.
  • XR Museum by NSC Creative, Leicester: Enter the space wing of a virtual museum and go beyond the glass.
  • The Whitechapel Tales AR by 1888, London: An augmented reality experience covering the history and a story of the Whitechapel area.

The programme has been developed by Digital Catapult and Arts Council England with support from Innovate UK, and in association with Immerse UK.

More information on CreativeXR can be found at creativexr.co.uk.