Ascend to the stars in a space elevator and immerse yourself in a collection of thoughts from real patients at St Jude Hospital.
Voices of Inspiration, a new VR game from award-winning creator Lucas Rizzotto (Where Thoughts Go) and tech company Z3VR, promises to offer players a unique window into the thoughts and minds of real patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
In this out-of-this-world experience, you’ll leave behind the comfortable familiarity of Earth and journey to the stars. Here, you’ll immerse yourself in the thoughts and artwork of various St. Jude patients. According to Z3VR CEO Josh Ruben, the goal is to highlight the similarities between space explorers and cancer patients; much like an astronaut traveling to an unknown world, first-time patients at St. Jude are entering their own “high-risk environment.”
“What brought the project into focus in the beginning was an insight that Nicole Stott, astronaut and founder of The Space For Art Foundation shared with us: the journey of an astronaut and a cancer patient have a ton in common,” said Ruben. “They are plunging into an unknown high-risk environment, far away from friends and family, with weird food and even increased levels of radiation.”
The game was developed as an official tie-in toInspiration4, an all-civilian mission to orbit the Earth that included St. Jude childhood cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux. Upon ascending the space elevator, you’ll be presented with a variety of unique worlds, each themed after a different question asked by an Inspiration4 crew member. You can then select from a variety of responses by St. Jude patients. You’ll also find various artwork decorating the walls, each piece created by a patient at St. Jude.
“Since [St. Jude PLAY LIVE’s] launch, more than $40 million has been given to St. Jude by generous donors. Gamers all over the world have the ability to make a difference in the lives of children everywhere through creative, immersive interactive experiences like Voices of Inspiration,” said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising organization for St. Jude, in an official release.
“We’re thankful to Lucas Rizzotto and Z3VR for bringing this project to life to help St. Jude expand and accelerate critical research into the most deadly forms of childhood cancer and other key areas including blood disorders, pediatric neurological diseases, and infectious diseases.”
Voices of Inspiration will be available on Oculus Quest headsets via the Oculus App Lab on October 15th.
Feature Image Credit: Lucas Rizzotto, Z3VR
