Gwenael Francois, director of the award-winning interactive narrative 'Oto's Planet', shares insights on merging tabletop animation with virtual reality. He discusses the unique mechanic of rotating a tiny planet to follow a story that addresses themes of coexistence and colonialism. Francois reveals how the experience varies between platforms, noting the superior quality on Apple Vision Pro compared to Meta's Quest. He also touches on character design challenges and the creative use of untranslatable dialogue that enriches emotional depth in storytelling.
The innovative design of Oto's Planet allows users to rotate a miniature planet to choose their perspective, enhancing narrative engagement.
Director Gwenael Francois transitioned from traditional filmmaking to immersive storytelling, reflecting his passion for creating engaging interactive experiences.
Deep dives
Innovative Storytelling Through Immersive Animation
The podcast highlights the groundbreaking immersive experience offered by Otto's Planet, produced for platforms like the Apple Vision Pro and Quest. This storytelling piece allows viewers to explore a miniature planet featuring Otto, a laid-back character, and his interactions with a colonizing visitor named Exo. The beauty of the experience lies in its design, allowing players to control their perspective while witnessing the unfolding narrative. By rotating the planet, users can choose their focus points, enhancing the storytelling by giving them a sense of agency in the narrative journey.
The Artistic Journey of Otto's Creation
The director, Gwinnel Francois, shares his transition from traditional live-action filmmaking to immersive storytelling, driven by a passion for creating engaging experiences. Initially hesitant about the visual quality of early virtual reality works, he found inspiration in more refined projects like Arden's Wake. The concept of Otto's Planet emerged from his love for storytelling through small-scale animation, leading him to gather a diverse team and secure funding for development. This collaborative effort was essential in bridging technical gaps and shaping the unique artistic direction of the project.
Exploring Themes of Miscommunication and Colonialism
The narrative of Otto's Planet delves into contemporary geopolitical issues, framed through the miscommunication between Otto and Exo. Despite their language barriers, Otto's efforts to coexist peacefully with Exo highlight the complexities of immigration and colonialism. As the story progresses, it illustrates how misunderstandings can lead to conflict, reflecting real-world dilemmas of coexistence. The simplicity of the story, coupled with its deeper themes, encourages viewers to consider their current societal surroundings while engaging with the characters.
Technological Enhancements and Platform Differences
The podcast discusses the varying experiences of Otto's Planet on different platforms, noting the enhanced immersion provided by the Apple Vision Pro's high-resolution display and eye-tracking capabilities. The creators faced technical challenges when transitioning the project from the Quest to the Apple Vision Pro, but ultimately the result was a significant improvement in the interactive experience. Users have reported feeling more connected to the story in mixed reality contexts, as the animation blends seamlessly with their environment. The discussion emphasizes the potential of storytelling in immersive formats, especially as technology continues to evolve and improve user engagement.
OTO'S PLANET was being exhibited on the Quest at SXSW, but I had a chance to check out the Apple Pro Version ahead of the SXSW festival and I felt like I much preferred it. OTO'S PLANET picked up the second place prize at Venice Immersive, but I missed being able to interview the director Gwenael Francois there.
I did manage to catch up with Francois at SXSW to talk more about the development of this beautiful interactive narrative that uses table top-scale animation, and requires the user to rotate a tiny planet around in order to follow the story of Oto, his pet, and the story of a colonizing intruder who arrives.
I found that the interactions were much smoother and immersive on the Apple Vision Pro than the Quest, and the higher resolution also popped a lot more. The Apple Vision Pro version defaults to mixed reality while there is an opportunity to see it in fully immersive VR on the Quest. I normally would prefer the Quest version, but having the better quality mixed reality cameras and overall much higher resolution in the Apple Vision Pro.
Apple also featured Oto's Planet, and DPT CEO Nicholas Roy shares in this interview that they've actually received more purchases on Apple devices than Meta's ecosystem. Meta’s storefront has been flooded by Meta's own first-party Horizon world as well as App Lab apps, and so it’s very telling and reflective of the current state of distribution to have more sales for the Apple Vision Pro than Meta Quest.
It is promising to see Apple get more serious at immersive storytelling as there was a session titled "Create Interactive Stories for Apple Vision Pro" on Tuesday morning featuring three representatives from Apple.
This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon.
Music: Fatality
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode