Last week, we hosted our 2nd Purposeful event at the wonderful Century Club, focusing this time on VR with Purpose.

Here at Preloaded, we believe VR offers the opportunity to create emotional experiences that transcend all other media and, when done well, can have a deep and lasting effect on the user. As a game studio focussed on meaningful impact, we’re obviously passionate about VR and, by the smiles and crowds on the night, it’s safe to say you all are too!

VR with Purpose

The night featured three fabulous speakers, brilliantly representing the breadth of VR’s potential to create powerful experiences that can change and improve our lives.

First up was Dan Tucker, former editor of BBC’s iWonder, VR producer and now curator of the Alternate Realities summit at Sheffield’s Doc / Fest. He talked about the notion of VR as an empathy machine, and of how it allows you to step into the shoes of others, and see different perspectives. Dan talked about his journey from filmmaker to VR producer and how to tell good stories in VR. The lucky ones also got to experience the quite brilliant Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel.

Our next speaker explored the power VR has to influence audience behaviour, specifically in a medical context. Emily Tulloh, Service Designer at Mindwave Ventures talked about the challenge of innovating in the healthcare sector and showed a VR project focusing on supporting patients with OCD and drug addiction. Great to see such a focus on efficacy and evidence as well as user experience.

Dave Patten, Head of New Media at the Science Museum, was our final speaker. In his talk, Dave explored VR’s potential to create a ‘better than reality’ experience, bringing to life the invisible forces which make our world work. He talked about the Science Museum’s interest in VR as an interpretation tool for gallery objects and to preserve whole galleries or collections no longer physically accessible to the public. Dave showcased the Science Museum’s first piece of VR, Handley Page VR, which was created by Preloaded.

The Purposeful event series has been created to bring together like-minded people to explore and showcase the power of playful technology to change the world. It’s only possible with great speakers and a passionate audience, so thanks again to all of you for your support.

We’re already planning the next one, so if you want to join the list, drop us a line here.