Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of a clean, hyper-capitalist metaverse will likely never be as compelling or idiosyncratic as VRChat, the virtual reality community that’s been home to anime fans, furries, and a host of other subcultures since 2014. This is my key takeaway from We Met in Virtual Reality, the first documentary filmed entirely in VRChat, which premiered today at the Sundance Film Festival.
There’s no way Zuck’s metaverse would allow people to wear trademarked avatars without paying a ton, visit exotic clubs to get (or give) virtual lap dances, or allow users to build what the hell they want. VRChat presented by Director Joe Hunting, is basically a proto-metaverse where anything is possible. And for many, it’s served as a crucial social hub during the pandemic, a place to forget the world, relax with friends, and maybe find love.
But of course that is the nature of virtually any online community. We’re social animals – humans have always been able to connect via BBS, IRC, Usenet, and the plethora of forums and chat services that populated the early internet. I spent most of the ’90s hanging out in anime and gaming chat rooms, the sort of places today’s connected youth would probably find quaint. Still, the people I met there helped me get through the worst parts of middle and high school. Those relationships and the internet itself have made me who I am (for better or for worse).
We Met in Virtual Reality proves that despite the relentless consolidation of Big Tech, the online community’s unbridled, experimental spirit is alive and well today. But now, instead of staring at tiny CRT monitors, people are putting on VR headsets to explore fully realized environments. Hardcore VRCchat users also invest in powerful computer systems, as well as upgrades like finger and full-body tracking. In the 90’s I was thankful to get another 16MB of RAM so I could open more than one browser window. Today, VRChat followers can communicate using American Sign Language or have their anime avatars demonstrate their belly dancing skills.
Hunting approaches his subjects with an anthropologist’s gaze, without judging their sometimes ridiculous avatars (do all anime ladies have to have dead-or-alive-level jiggling breasts?). We Met in Virtual Reality starts out as a chill hangout flick — we follow a group of friends as they sip virtual drinks and go for spins in crudely built VR cars — but it quickly transcends the novelty of its setting. One person credits their VRChat friend for helping them unmute after being silent for two years. An Exotic performer explains that being able to dance for people on VRChat has helped her grieve a family tragedy and cope with a bout of alcoholism.
joe hunt
The film chronicles how this exotic dancer, a young woman from the UK, entered into a romantic relationship with another VRChat user in Miami. These types of cyber relationships are nothing new, but the VR platform enabled them to do much more than trade links and memes via IM. They could exist together in a room, dating each night in a new neighborhood. I won’t spoil where things end for the pair, but I can say it wouldn’t have been nearly as effective outside of VR.
We Met in Virtual Reality effectively communicates why people care about VRChat, especially during a pandemic. But it doesn’t fully capture the wonder of exploring these environments on your own. Watching people jump on a virtual roller coaster isn’t nearly as exciting as doing it, where your entire field of vision is covered and you can easily get dizzy. But I don’t blame Hunting too much; Its mission was to strip down the VR experience so that people can enjoy it on a 2D screen, and the film mostly succeeds in that regard. The film was shot using a virtual camera that could mimic all the functions of a typical shooter, from focus points to aperture stops. Despite being produced in a foreign setting that most people are unfamiliar with, it still feels like a traditional documentary.
Hunting has spent the past few years making VR documentaries, starting with a few short films, such as the Speak Virtually series. It’s clear from We Met in Virtual Reality that he’s not coming to the community just for a short story. Instead, he sees the humanity behind the avatars and virtual connections. Not only are these people escaping their lives with VR — their lives are enriched by it.
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