【 XR INDUSTRY EVENT 】Villa Formose Immersive: XR Prototyping Showcase
．Panelists
- Director & Screenwriter of THE PARTY｜Stéphanie SPHYRAS
- Co-Creator & Stage Director of THE PARTY｜Benoit NGUYEN TAT
- Director of Mystis｜Tatiana COLLET-APRAXINE
．Moderator
Curator of XR DREAMLAND｜WANG Kuan-jen
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This session, "Villa Formose - Immersive: XR Prototyping Showcase," highlighted two French creative teams who developed XR prototypes, engaged in industry exchanges, and hosted open studio sessions during their residency in Kaohsiung. Contrasting in style—one reflective and the other energetic—both teams drew upon their personal life experiences and the inspiration gathered from local culture to share their creative motivations and development processes.
The showcase opened with remarks from Josué Serres, Head of Cooperation and Cultural Action at the Bureau Français de Taipei (BFT). He expressed gratitude to the Kaohsiung organizers for providing an enriching residency environment and support. This opportunity allowed the artists to immerse themselves in Taiwan’s culture and natural landscape, drawing creative inspiration while expanding their collaborative network. He expressed hopes for deeper collaboration with industry partners in Taiwan. Following his opening, the creators introduced their respective projects:
Project Showcase: THE PARTY
Director Nguyen Tat began by narrating a scenario: audiences receive a mysterious invitation to a party, where a voice deeply familiar with their lives whispers in their ear, guiding them through space and encouraging them to dance to the beat. Eventually, they step through the gateway to an invisible world, casting aside limitations of age and gender to become part of "The Party." This is the experience the project seeks to create. Director Sphyras added that the visual approach stems from her passion for capturing candid moments of friends and family immersed in gatherings. Through VR, she hopes to bring these static photographic memories back to life. THE PARTY is envisioned as an immersive journey blending Mixed Reality (MR) with live music performances.
Project Showcase: Mystis
Director Collet-Apraxine shared that Mystis is planned as a 25-minute VR animation. It leads audiences on a journey through the underworld in search of lost loved ones, exploring how to truly let go and accept the unalterable past. Collet-Apraxine revealed that the creative concept originated from her personal trauma at age ten, when her mother tragically passed away in an accident. Too young to process the immense grief at the time, she buried her feelings, only revisiting and processing this trauma as an adult to transform it into a piece of self-discovery and healing. Composed of seven narrative chapters, Mystis guides viewers through the distinct stages of grief. The visual aesthetic utilizes white paper textures combined with light and shadow play to evoke the duality of grief—symbolizing that while this underworld journey holds dark and terrifying moments, it is equally rich in magic and poetic beauty.
In closing,Collet-Apraxine addressed questions regarding how she perceives the role of the audience and how she hopes they will understand the experience. She described her goal as building a "container"—transforming an intimate journey of healing into an open space for dialogue, offered as a gift to the audience. Meanwhile, the creators of THE PARTY addressed the technical challenges they faced and explained their rationale behind choosing a multi-user format. As their first foray into an outdoor free-roam MR experience, they encountered hurdles such as intense daytime sunlight potentially affecting test results, requiring them to conduct trials after dusk. Constructing virtual elements within physical spaces and ensuring multi-device stability remain key technical challenges to overcome.
Regarding their choice of a "multi-user experience," both Sphyras and Nguyen Tat attribute this to their theatrical backgrounds. They believe the core spirit of theater lies in how "every performance is a unique, magical moment co-created with the audience." In an MR environment, audience choices and spontaneous reactions bring constant surprises, forging genuine connections between strangers through interaction. Concluding their presentation, they shared observations from their residency, noting how local traditional beliefs are connected to modern daily life—a dynamic that offered profound inspiration for their mixed-reality work
