The Imaginary Friend is an immersive and interactive VR experience by Steye Hallema and Produced by Studio Biarritz. It had it’s world premiere at la Biennale di Venezia, Venice Immersive 2023 and was nominated for a “Gouden Kalf Digitale Cultuur” at the Netherlands Film Festival 2023.
“The Imaginary Friend invites you to take part in the vivid imagination of Daniel, a grieving eight-year-old struggling with the line between reality and fantasy. Become Daniel’s imaginary friend and let him share his world with you. Discover his joys and anxieties, even help him fight his demons head-on. However, as you spend time together, Daniel’s surroundings don’t quite understand. Why is he talking to himself? Is he crazy? When his father intends to fix him, Daniel needs to figure out his feelings before disconnecting from reality completely…
With its unique point of view in storytelling and the latest technical developments in VR, The Imaginary Friend presents an intimate experience unmatched in the VR landscape. Daniel sees, talks and interacts with you, allowing you to form a deeply personal bond with the boy. Through interactive gameplay, you don’t only push the story forward but also actively participate in Daniel’s life.”
– Text taken from theimaginaryfriend.nl , go there for more information.
My involvement: I was involved with the Imaginary Friend as creative developer. In an early phase of the project I transformed the script into an interactive storyboard and helped conceptualize and develop the interactions. Later, together with Frank Bosma, we programmed the experience and implemented the work of the rest of the team.