
To exist in the virtual world is to have two bodies, four hands, two hearts. In Shadowtime, a guide to this double world leads you through irreconcilable realities and through the virtual as a place to take shelter.
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About

This VR essay guides you from Ivan Sutherland’s historical creation of the first head-mounted VR display through different iterations of simulation theory in a powerful, embodied critique of virtual realities as a possible solution to current emergency conditions.
‘Shadowtime’ is a new word coined for our age by Ranu Mukherjee and the Bureau of Linguistical Reality, describing the feeling of occupying two irreconcilable times simultaneously. It is being stuck in a traffic jam on your way to work and realizing that the gas in your engine is the compressed mass of prehistoric creatures. It is scrolling through your phone and remembering that the earth is changing irrevocably. In ‘Shadowtime’, directors Sister Sylvester and Deniz Tortum take these temporal incompatibilities and explore them in the realm of virtual reality and simulation theory.
Is the shadow world of VR just a hiding place, an escape from reality? Or is it the perfect context for learning about how to be in two places at once?
“You are in two worlds at the same time. Your body is in the other world, but your heart is in this one.”
To exist in the virtual world is to have two bodies, four hands, two hearts. Alma, a mysterious guide to this double world, leads you through questions around the climate crisis, irreconcilable realities, and the virtual as a place to take shelter.
The team utilised AI due to the thematic relevance of the story. This application marks the first use of AI in creating 3D and 6DOF environments that morph seamlessly into one another in VR. This innovative technique is showcased in a short sequence within the experience.
Based in Utrecht, Institute of Time is an interdisciplinary film and new media company specializing in documentary films and XR experiences. Focusing on creative projects around climate change, it aims to bring a different perspective to our current life and uncertain future with storytelling.
"Shadowtime" is a hand-tracking experience designed specifically for PC-linked Meta Quest 2 headset.
Graphic Quality: To achieve optimal graphic quality, ensure that an h265 codec is installed on your PC.
"Shadowtime" will run properly even if you don't have all these settings.
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Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English**languages with full audio support
Reviews
[h1]Experienced on the Meta Quest 3[/h1] This is a Mixed Reality (passthrough) & Hand-Tracking artistic experience! Works perfectly on the Meta Quest 3. Be sure to put away those motion controllers! There are some interactions, but it is a mostly cinematic experience. Whole thing takes about 20 minutes. The photogrammetry parts looked really good. Most of the action happens 180 in front of you, but it is a 360 stereoscopic 3D experience. I thought it was a trippy experience and the game does play with your senses. [b]Rate 8/10.[/b] [quote]I bought this game! If you enjoyed my review, please consider joining my Steam Curator group [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Oculus_WMR]Oculus Rift Reviews.[/url][/quote]
Having played a number of VR games like VRChat, Blade and Sorcery, and Into the Radius for likely hundreds of hours now, this was a remarkable breath of fresh air. Shadowtime is not a game so much as a short VR video essay/experience about how VR has a person experiencing two overlapping realities at the same time. It's a neat little experience (and a little bit of a drug trip at one point) you can get through in less than half an hour easily. You can kind of get the jist of it from the video and images from the Steam page but fittingly this experience is best seen in VR. If you've got a headset, a couple dollars to spend, and a bit of curiosity I'd say give Shadowtime a look.
I'm not reaching when I say that this is the most psychedelic experience I've had in VR
Leider mal wieder sehr kurze Erfahrung, aber eindrucksvoll. Auszug aus der Beschreibung im Steam-Shop (übersetzt): "Ist die Schattenwelt der VR nur ein Versteck, eine Flucht vor der Realität? Oder ist sie der perfekte Kontext, um zu lernen, wie man an zwei Orten gleichzeitig sein kann?" - Tja, wer kann das beantworten? Ein buddhistischer Meister vielleicht (wobei der sicher andere Praktiken nutzt). Oder ein Quantenphysiker? Wobei ich mir nicht ganz sicher bin, ob ich in der VR-Erfahrung alles richtig verstanden habe, ist auf englisch. Optisch bekommt man hier einige Traumweltbilder zu sehen. Wie cool wäre es, wenn man darin herum laufen könnte. Geht aber leider nicht. Man bekommt zum Teil Anweisungen, wie: schaue nach links, nach rechts, nach oben... Jedesmal verändert sich dadurch etwas. Es gibt auch ein paar meditative Einlagen, wo man einen Würfel anschaut. Die Dame, welche man in einem Raum trifft und die einem sehr viel erzählt (wie sinnvoll das ist, wage ich nicht zu beurteilen), hält immer Blickkontakt. Schaut man von oben auf sie herab, hebt sie ihren Blick. Schaut man von unten, senkt sie diesen. Mein Versuch, zu testen, ob sie ihren Kopf wie eine Eule einmal rundum drehen kann, scheiterte leider an einem zu kurzem Kabel an der VR-Brille. Versuche ich beim nächsten Durchlauf noch einmal. Wer mit dem Thema an sich nichts anfangen kann, den könnten dennoch die hier erschaffenen Bilder/Räume faszinieren.
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