The Void co-founder: 'The secret to storytelling in VR? Don't!'

""Storytelling implies one-way communication: I am telling a story and you are listening to it," Hickman told The Drum. "If that's what you want to do maybe don't use an interactive medium to do it. Use a film, use a book, use a blog - tell a story in a medium designed for storytelling. If you're doing it with VR, you have to recognise that no matter what, the person in the virtual world has decision and choice.""

""took VR and pushed it as far as it would go""

Curtis Hickman co-founded The Void to create hyper-reality experiences that combine VR headsets, haptic bodysuits, and tangible stage sets to produce deeply immersive environments. The Void operates in the US, UK and UAE, often within shopping malls, and offers locations such as a Star Wars-themed Westfield Stratford City experience. The Void deliberately avoids imposed storylines, favoring non-linear, liberated experiences that grant participants decision and choice. Hickman argues that storytelling implies one-way communication and that interactive media like VR should preserve user agency. Hollywood producers have struggled with this approach, often requesting fixed expositional moments for players.

Read at The Drum