Take a thrilling journey through a dangerous cosmos in an adventure set to a soundtrack from the musical mastermind behind Adult Swim’s Dethklok.
Titmouse is one of those companies that seems genuinely committed to breaking the status quo in every project they produce. Whether it be television, film or games, the popular animation studio injects a unique flair into everything they touch, resulting in some of the most creative and memorable pieces of animated content in recent years. Thankfully this ideology was not lost in their expansion into the realm of VR.
Their first foray into the technology, Smashparty VR, embodies the very spirit of the company itself, allowing users to destroy a collection of household items with various colorful weaponry as a crowd wildly cheers you on. They’ve also produced a handful of immersive art utilizing the popular VR art application Tilt Brush that are bizarre as they are well-crafted. Now the studio is dipping its toes into the world of VR music videos with a new 360 project that matches intense visuals with an equally intense soundtrack.
Available now for free on SteamVR for the HTC Vive, the Oculus store for Oculus Rift and YouTube, Icarus Six Sixty Six is an intergalactic VR music video that puts you in the cockpit of a neon-pulsing spaceship powered by the beats of an intricate heavy metal symphony.
As you stare out the window of your ship you’ll witness one hell of a brightly-colored light show of various patterns and designs, each more trippy than the last. Hypnotic symmetrical patterns of varying colors? Check. An intense dogfight between a group of enemy spaceships? Check. An appearance by an intergalactic space devil. Of course!
Despite the incredible visuals however, it’s the music in this 360 epic that truly shines the brightest. Set to a sample of the track Icarus 666 from the album “Galaktikon II: Become the Storm” by Brendan Small, the intense heavy metal drums and guitars are a perfect combination for the equally intimidating visuals. Each motion, explosion and action is synced to the powerful track, creating a genuine sense of adrenaline. If the music sounds a little familiar, that’s probably because you have great taste in TV. Small is the musical mastermind behind Dethklok, the fictional band featured in Adult Swim’s hit animated series, Metalokalypse.
“It was great working with my pals at Titmouse to put together this intergalactic roller coaster ride,” said Dethklok/Galaktikon mastermind Brendon Small. “It’s really fun bringing a VR experience to the world of METAL!!!”
Icarus Six Sixty Six was created using Tilt Brush, a VR art tool that Titmouse has utilized multiple times in the past. Their creations were then imported into the Unity engine via the toolkit.
“From demons to neon black holes and spaceships, anything you can create using Tilt Brush can be brought into Unity through the Toolkit,” said Chris Prynoski, president and owner of Titmouse. “More than just something that makes our eyes pop out of our heads, working in VR and with AR for the launch of the Snapchat World Lens Gravy Time has been crazy-bananas.”
This is another slam dunk for the Emmy-winning studio who have already proven themselves a powerful player in the field of VR thanks to Smash Party VR and their various other Tilt Brush projects. Hopefully Titmouse’s commitment towards Tilt Brush continues to help the intuitive application expand its capabilities as well as its popularity.
