Netflix’s Black Mirror series has already shined the spotlight on VR in one of its many cautionary takes on the future of technology. The Surrogate, however, is a Black Mirror-style experience that takes place inside VR itself.
Launching today on the Oculus Rift and directed by Peter Flaherty, The Surrogate is an interactive VR experience set in a future not too far from now. Developed by LA-based VR Playhouse, the piece takes a look at the impact of emerging technologies on our relationships. In it, viewers embody a female protagonist named Juliana Bach that explores her relationship with her husband.
Bach suffers from an anxiety order brought about by increased use of both VR and AR. To avoid her struggles, she hires a ‘surrogate’ that takes her place in the real world. Gradually, her displacement starts to take an impact on her marriage, while viewers will uncover from scene-to-scene.
Interestingly, the piece mixes 360-degree video with a fully computer-generated home environment that users can explore as they would a VR game. Viewers can choose how to explore the narrative, visiting portals around the house from his they observe the live action segments.
Whether or not The Surrogate captures the intimate kind of satires that makes its inspirations so successful remains to be seen. A preview of the experience is already available on the Oculus Store.
