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The outcome of this virtual riot depends on your emotions
Consider what your first reaction would be if, during a protest turned violent, you came face-to-face with a riot cop barking at you from behind his clear shield. Not the words that come out of your mouth nor the moves you could make to escape. Before any of that, your emotions would already be fired up and broadcasting to the policeman what you might do next. In RIOT 2, an interactive film by Karen Palmer, controlling these emotions is the key to your escape. Inspired by protests in Baton Rouge and Ferguson to Turkey and Venezuela, the goal of RIOT is essentially to keep calm. It is designed to make you fearful.
Eye-tracking software can gauge your intent and boredom in VR
One of the singular things about virtual reality is the freedom to look in any direction. But that's also one of its biggest narrative problems. How does a storyteller retain control when the viewer is free to decide where to look? The answer, it seems, is in the eyes.
