A new way to experience stories from the natural world
Overview
In this rreal-time interactive VR experience you travel through the underwater world of the Californian coast. You are able to hitch a ride with inhabitants ranging from otters to squid, guiding you through their ecosystem. On the way you are free to explore the world and discover side-stories and new animals. Building a picture of the behaviours and relationships which sustain this diverse ecosystem.
A Journey Beneath the Waves
The journey begins following a mother sea otter as she forages in the coastal waters. After exploring kelp forests you plunge into the depths of an oceanic trench, experiencing this unique environment and the behaviour of the animals who live there. Along the way you meet and interact with a range of animals from microscopic plankton to giant squid and a gargantuan sperm whale.
The animals react to your presence and exhibit behaviours unique to them and their situation. The result is an experience that rewards exploration and replay-ability with an understanding of the natural world.
Bringing this all to life are binaural environmental sound effects from the same world leading team behind Blue Planet and an original music score built specifically for an interactive world, adjusting to reflect changes in mood and tone of the locations visited and animals encountered.
BBC Earth’s experience on Daydream makes exploring the wonders of our world more immersive and accessible than ever before. (…) The experience truly showcases the unique capabilities of the interactive and immersive format of Daydream to provide a platform for deeper understandings of our world.
Kellee Santiago
Senior Producer, Daydream, Google
An Experience for Everyone
Even in innovation and working with new technologies we believe in designing with an everyday audience in mind. It’s what helps grow a market and deliver the best possible experience.
We made sure audiences new to VR had a low barrier to entry, putting great emphasis on ease of use and the overall comfort of the experience. The story and format borrows from the familiarity audiences have with our Natural History and features some of the most popular animals viewers encountered in the Blue Planet II TV series
Showcasing Google Technology
Designed in partnership with Google for a new breed of devices, BBC Earth – Life in VR was one of the first titles to use full 6DOF on a standalone headset.
We helped Google showcase these features giving audiences the chance to duck beneath the water and interact with animals that truly reacted to your physical presence in a virtual space.