Blair Renaud // LOW-FI 🟥🟧⬛

#VR Design Manifesto AKA holodeck program guidelines [a work in progress] - no fail states - minimize user frustration - maximize user empowerment - maximize user awe - allow user to set their own goals - don't put words in user's mouth - don't push the user around

If you guys saw who liked this post, you would spit out your drinks. Basically the entire executive leadership of tech and gaming. 😅

Chet Faliszek is unhinged. Guy is on Linkedin at 1am on a Friday night posting raving personal attacks to indie devs because of their associations. Not only unprofessional, but a little sad. If you're friends with him, maybe check on ya boy.

Intellectual property is dead. Not dying. Holodeck Program Guidelines #06 👇 linkedin.com/pulse/06-death-… In one month: the PS5 was jailbroken, EA shut down BioWare, and Adobe’s stock slid as one person vibe-coded free Adobe Suite clones and AI agents can decompile and remix any game. You can still make dope sh*t. You just can’t stop people from using it as they please. I grew up consuming pirated art, and have unashamedly used it to paint the worlds I've created for over 30 years. Now I'm asking, should I allow my users the same privilege? To use what I've built to paint their own dreams?

🔴LOW-FI v0.57 is LIVE anticleric.itch.io/low-fi/de… Major Changes are: - Engine Upgrade from Unity 2019 to Unity 6! - Le Circus Raceway! - Loading Screens? haha - Much, much more in the link above! Enjoy the slapped together video showing some of the racing mixed with the track inspiration: 'The Running Man' from the Neo Tokyo (1987)

LOW-FI development update: kickstarter.com/projects/iri… The Singularity is Near... Find someone to love, make dope shit, and hold on to your butts. ❤

I vibe-coded a game that's been in the back of my mind for years called ACCESS CONTROL irisvirtualreality.com/ac/ac… Think Papers Please meets the Security Tech from 2012's DREDD. Give it try and tell me what you think. Still in beta obviously, but I plan to take it further and even incorporate it into LOW-FI.

Legends of VR - Oculus Connect 2016 Can you catch 'em all?

I just backed CardputerZero, Pocket Raspberry Pi Computer for Makers on @Kickstarter kickstarter.com/projects/m5s…

Never mind where I've been. Let's talk about where we're going.

🔴 New Holodeck Program Guidelines is Live: Awe & the Cathedral of the Mind 👇 linkedin.com/pulse/05-awe-ca… The holiday season is upon us. ❄️ What better time to talk about awe, wonder, and clutter as they relate to designing immersive worlds? How can we evoke the feeling of looking out across a sea of stars in the night sky, stepping into an ancient cathedral, or being moved by music as waves of sound from a massive pipe organ or subwoofer wash over you? In this edition of Holodeck Program Guidelines, I take a deep dive into: - Scale: How to make the user feel small, in a good way. - Depth: Leveraging volumetrics, particles, and stereoscopy. - 3D audio: How awe can be achieved without any visuals at all. - Clutter: How overwhelming complexity helps sell reality. 'Tis the season to feel deeply, and to help others in any way we can.

🔴 New Holodeck Program Guidelines is live. linkedin.com/pulse/04-dont-w… Writing the player's character and putting a voice in their head is the number one way to break immersion in a holodeck experience. In this edition, I talk about alternatives, and how to build rich worlds, full of lore and interesting characters, while maximizing player agency without telling the user who they are and what they should be doing.

🔴 New Holodeck Program Guidelines is live. linkedin.com/pulse/03-main-q… Main Quest Guilt: That feeling when the world is ending, but you’d rather be fishing, picking flowers, or just vibing at a noodle stand. In VR, guilt hits the user, not their avatar. So this edition is we talk about designing holodeck-like experiences where: + Calm is the default + Drama is opt-in + The world reacts, but doesn’t judge And how ignoring the dragon is 100% valid.

Nobody: Me on Sunday: Digging a USB bracelet out of a drawer to find I don't have my private key, but instead an encrypted key store JSON file from 2017, unplugging the internet, using Python to extract the hash, brute forcing it with Hashcat on a 3090 and a 2080ti so that I can access my ETH wallet.

🔴Possibly controversial new edition of Holodeck Program Guidelines is live: linkedin.com/pulse/fail-stat… “Game Over” screens have wasted players' time (and quarters) for decades. Loading screens, respawn timers and obscure puzzles can be painful in traditional games, but in VR they can push users away for good. In this week’s edition, I wrote about fail states and the goal of zero friction in VR: - Why death isn’t fun or empowering - How a “Game Over” screen could become a self fulfilling prophecy - Why frustration in VR is so dangerous - How to split timelines and move forward without punishing player choice I also talk a bit about LOW-FI, guns as narrative devices, and why I’d rather be a dungeon master than carve the plot in stone. If you’re interested in #VR, game design, or don't think the holodeck should punish you for playing “wrong,” I’d love for you to give it a read and subscribe for more.

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the Max Headroom signal intrusion incident. Celebrate by supporting a game made by another subversive, cyberpunk weirdo. LOW-FI // linktr.ee/anticleric ON STEAM DECK / FRAME/ VR / PS5 / PSVR2 / +

Nobody ever needed a walkthrough for the Holodeck. Step through the door and the world takes it from there. No quest log. No “GAME OVER” screen. Just atmosphere, agency, and vibes. linkedin.com/pulse/what-holo… I’ve started a weekly newsletter, 'Holodeck Program Guidelines', to dig into ideas like: • Removing fail states and puzzles from VR • Reducing user frustration without killing tension • What a “cozy dystopia” means in practice • Building worlds people want to live in, not just beat

// TECHNOLUST The premier cyberpunk VR experience returns on its 10th anniversary with a next-gen multiplatform remaster in the works. // Find out more and show support 💾 patreon.com/posts/technolust…

You know what would go really well with that Steam Deck / Machine / Frame / Account? // LOW-FI 💽 linktr.ee/anticleric