Camping is a very popular outdoor activity, but due to various reasons, it is not easily enjoyed by people. Now, as long as you wear a VR headset, you can go camping anytime, anywhere, and even experience wonderful things that will never happen in reality. FIVARS had a chance to speak with director Yong Cao.

What led to the creation of this piece?

The motivation behind creating Camping VR stemmed from the tremendous popularity of camping-themed videos on YouTube, with some reaching tens of millions of views. This indicates how beloved camping is.

The experience of being alone in a wilderness setting has a certain psychological healing function, satisfying a primal need to detach from the noise of the city and commune with one’s inner self and the natural environment. The many features of camping lend themselves perfectly to VR simulation: the serene atmosphere, the joy of cooking with camping utensils, and the ability to play with therapeutic toys while avoiding the burdensome and negative aspects of real camping, seamlessly blending all the goodness. But VR offers even more.

In addition to simulating what can be experienced in reality, it allows for extraordinary experiences that reality cannot provide: encountering forest spirits, birds delivering mysterious envelopes, ethereal marine creatures floating above the sea, experiencing low gravity on the moon…the possibilities are endless, igniting the imagination. Filled with passion, I embarked on the production of CAMPING-MIND VR.

What was the production process for you and your team? What did you learn?

Once a certain theme is determined, we will try to consult a large amount of relevant information, then refine the core elements, and then use the core elements as the skeleton to add other elements that can enrich the theme to create. Among these, enthusiasm is the most important.

How did you become an immersive media content creator and why?

I used to be an image worker, making pictures and videos related to architecture, so I am quite good at using CG to create realistic and beautiful scenes. With the development of VR, I found that my expertise can be well utilized in VR because the realism of Beautiful scenes is a very important element of high-quality VR. Slowly, I found fun and a sense of accomplishment, and I couldn’t let it go. I enjoyed the process of creating VR works very much.

What would you like to share with fellow content creators and/or the industry?

The development of VR/AR has not been as smooth as expected. Although it has been developing, it has not yet reached the point of explosion. Therefore, we need to find the most original intention when creating VR, which is love and lasting enthusiasm. Dedicated to creating good works, waiting for the arrival of spring.

Do you think VR festivals like FIVARS are important?

Any VR-related festival is a good opportunity for creators to communicate and encourage, so FIVARS is, of course, a very important VR festival that will promote the development of the VR industry to a certain extent.

FIVARS 2023 runs in person September 15-19th in Toronto and online through October 3rd.