At VRDC Fall 2017, learn about cutting-edge social VR work and tech

As Virtual Reality Developers Conference organizers put the finishing touches on a great VRDC Fall 2017 event (happening September 21-22 at a bigger, better venue in San Francisco), they want to make sure you don't miss out on some of the great social VR talks happening at the show!

One of VRDC's many goals is to give attendees opportunities to learn from experts breaking ground on the frontier of VR/AR/MR social experiences. These new technologies can open up whole new realms of human interaction, and at VRDC Fall 2017 you'll hear from some of the foremost pioneers in the field.

That's why behavioral scientist and researcher Jessica Outlaw will be giving an important talk about social VR titled "Road to Art3mis: Women's First-Time Experiences in Social VR." Outlaw's talks is based on her recruitment of 20 women (all first-timers to VR) to use different social VR platforms. Using observation, and pre- and post-interview questions, she will report the findings of this testing and offer attendees insight into how the data might be applied to create more inclusive VR experiences.

Outlaw aims to discuss how the participant's expectations about VR influenced their experience, how they approached social interactions, and their perceptions about the potential of the technology. Attend her talk to learn all the specific findings from this study -- and get tips on running your own research in the future!

Organizers are also excited to welcome Mike Booth, who currently works on social VR at Facebook and has a long career in games (founding Turtle Rock Studios and working at companies like Valve, Electronic Arts and Blizzard), to deliver a cutting-edge talk on what it takes to build an immersive social experience in VR.

Booth's talk, "Creating Social Experiences in VR", will be part of VRDC Fall 2017's Innovation track of talks, which are all about how pioneers are breaking new ground in VR, AR, and mixed-reality experience design. Booth now leads a team of people who are exploring and building the future of social interation in VR, and his talk will be packed with their lessons learned. 

And in "Building VR Communities: Asymmetry, Asynchrony, and Abuse" a panel of experts (Google's Rob Jagnow and Daniel Citron, along with Owlchemy Labs' Cy Wise) will discuss findings from dozens of VR social interaction tests and highlight their own hard-learned best practices in an effort to foster an open dialogue about the nuances of this new space. 

The idea is that by considering asymmetric experiences that take place across heterogeneous devices like a headset and a mobile phone, developers can open up new opportunities for participation. Mechanics built around asynchronous interactions can make small communities feel bigger.

And of course, VRDC Fall 2017 organizers look forward to announcing many more talks for the event in the weeks to come. Don't forget to register early at a discounted rate!

Since tickets sold out for the first three VRDC events, VRDC Fall 2017 will offer more sessions and move to a bigger location at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, CA September 21-22.

For more information on VRDC Fall 2017, visit the show's official website and subscribe to regular updates via Twitter and Facebook.

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