Emergence

Emergence is a VR open-world art experience about patterns of human behaviour and the relationship between individuals and groups. You control a solitary, glowing avatar among thousands of autonomous strangers whose movements react to yours.

Shape the crowd

Your pace and direction influence the strangers, both individually and as a group, making you the crowd’s choreographer. Their programmed behaviours include avoidance, following and mimicry. From above, their movements form patterns across the landscape.

Changing surroundings

A shaft of light draws you onward. Each time you reach it, the landscape changes, along with the soundtrack, gravity, atmosphere and way of moving. The experience has no set goal or sequence of tasks to complete; instead, you adapt to each transformation and consider your place within the crowd, from leading others to being overwhelmed by them.

Emergence was part of Universal Everything’s solo show Fluid Bodies at Borusan Contemporary in Istanbul in 2018–2019. An updated VR app version, presented in collaboration with WITHIN, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival as part of New Frontier.