"We're never going to be totally immersive as long as we're looking at a square....no matter where you look you're sourrounded by a three-dimensional experience. That's the future."
- Steven Spielberg
"...the day will come when we don't send our bodies, we send our spirits, through telepresent technology. That technology is now here."
- Robert Ballard
Hi There! We are Bradford Brown, Co-founder and Creative Director for Laughing Soul Media, and Susan Maravetz, Co-founder and Director of Business Operations. We launched Experience IT! as a week long event in May 2012 and are eager to expand our vision with this innovative campaign.
We have a vision to revolutionize the world of entertainment. We want to introduce you to IT or Immersive Theatre. IT is a fully immersive gaming experience! Imagine yourself as the player, standing in the center of our dome environment. Projectors above your head create an image around you in a full 360° perimeter. No matter which way you look, you can see and move through the game. Motion capture sensors track your movements in the space and help facilitate your moving through the environment. An omni-directional treadmill allows you to walk through the environment in real time. You are part of the game, truly involved in a virtual reality or perhaps you could call it “The Holodeck.”
IT will change the way we play video games and empower us to create and achieve in our day to day reality. IT is unlike conventional games or other virtual reality. The player wears no gear of any kind. No head set, no controller. Nothing! Total freedom! You are physically active and totally immersed in the game. Our games are designed to never be the same twice and the experiences you have in the dome are unlimited. And, since the dome is an open space, you will have the whole family or your friends in to help.
At Laughing Soul Media we focus on positive experiences in games. We make games that are good for the soul and they are played in a very special environment. We strive for a fun adventure that the whole family can play. We want to empower children and adults. Show them that their choices matter and that they can create their own reality, explore other worlds and be in control.
IT has unlimited applications and is completely portable. We will appear in Museums, Music Events, Trade Shows, Festivals, Conferences and Schools. Maybe in a city near you, showing video games, science simulations, space exploration, 360° film, animation and virtual travel. Just to start.
Here is how you can help make our vision a reality. We are raising $75,000 to permanently acquire a 360° projection dome and the media servers necessary to power IT. This will allow us to build the environment necessary to share our vision and launch our first game. Additional funding beyond $75,000 will contribute to the development of our first game and allow us to ramp up our operations more quickly. Our stretch goal is $150,000 and we know with your help we will get there and FAST!
In May 2012, we leased a dome for a week while we launched Experience IT! at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. This week provided our team with a powerful proof of concept and lots of great media and momentum. Our week wasn’t cheap, we quickly tallied over $25,000 in personal investment. The good news is the proof of concept helped us determine exactly what technology we need and how we will configure it. We've written our business plan, organized the team and begun game development. All we need now is a dome to play the game in and the servers to make that happen. Oh, and lots of people to come play with us and Experience IT!
We are really excited about building a creative community of people that want to come play in the dome. When you support our project at $25 or above, you become part of our creative community of explorers, adventurers and innovators. You will have access to behind the scenes development plans and opportunities to provide feedback to our creative team. The most fun, of course, will be your insider opportunities to Experience IT first hand and be part of history in the making.
We have some really serious perks for really serious enthusiasts. How about a Birthday Party in the dome for your kids or for the BIG kids? Want to come join in our VIP Dance Party? How about a Teambuilding Experience? Does your team need some bonding time? We've got lots of ways to play and explore in the dome. And yes, most of our big perks happen in Wilmington, NC but if you aren’t familiar, this is a great place to visit. We have several neighboring beaches and there is always a film in production on the busy downtown streets of this east coast Hollywood town.
If we don't make our entire goal, no worries, we will leverage the funds we do raise for a bank loan to bring Experience IT to Wilmington, NC. But we aren't worried about that, we know you are as excited as we are to bring this to life!
We have a team of dedicated people working on creating amazing worlds to explore and other experiences you’ve only dreamed of. Our games focus on creating positive experiences and sharing positive messages with the world. The first game we are developing is a “Create Your Own Adventure” style game that will appeal to small children, families and young adults. Leveraging The Hero’s Journey format, we are guiding the player through lavish worlds of fantasy and possibility.
In May 2012, to demonstrate the viability of this concept, Laughing Soul Media provided a proof of concept event to the local community and investors. We called this event – Experience IT. Several interactive games were created by our team and we demonstrated the games inside of an Igloo Vision 360° projection dome, resulting in highly positive feedback and setting a clear direction for the evolution of focus.
What we enjoyed most about our initial project was the joy we brought to the faces of all involved; the developers that created the games, the business leaders that sponsored us, and the children that played in the dome. We are eager to instill that joy in others on a regular basis and as part of our contribution to this planet. We are ready and eager to get started!
Take a peek at our great rewards and keep coming back to our page throughout the campaign, we will keep the page active and update regularly. We have lots of fun surprises planned throughout the campaign, including a referral contest we will launch in a couple of weeks and some limited edition perks that will appear mid-stream in our campaign. We are sincere about building a community of like-minded enthusiasts and hope that you will consider becoming a very involved part of our team!
And if you aren’t ready today to splurge on our HUGE vision for Immersive Theatre, we so appreciate a share to your friends through social media, so Tweet, LIKE and share away!
Thank you in advance for helping make IT: Immersive Theatre a Reality!
Updated perk! How many pieces of flair are you wearing? You only need 1! A collector's edition DREAM IT! T-Shirt to show your support of Laughing Soul Media. You will also have our undying gratitude and access to our Community Discussion Board when you contribute $50 to our campaign. AND any perks over the $50 level will automatically receive a DREAM IT! T-Shirt in their reward package!