Philip K. Dick’s 1953 short story, “The Great C,” is now available in virtual reality (VR). Known for his sci-fi stories (Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and The Man in the High Castle), this adaptation marks the first of his works to be realized in VR. The 30 minute experience was created by Secret Location, an Emmy® award-wining VR studio, and debuted at the Venice Film Festival in 2018.
“Philip K. Dick’s wonderfully forward-thinking stories have always felt primed for telling in equally forward-thinking mediums,” Secret Location co-founder Ryan Andal said in a statement. “Pairing ‘The Great C’s’ provocative themes with our VR development prowess is helping us redefine how we consume sci-fi stories.”
Like Dick’s story of the same name, the experience pertains to a computer known as the Great C, which brought about the apocalypse and is now tormenting one of the last remaining human villages by demanding a yearly human sacrifice. This adaptation centers on Claire, a woman whose fiancé Tim has been selected as the sacrifice. Now she must decide whether to accept this fate, or to rage against the machine.
“The Great C” utilizes dynamic scaling during scenes to “seamlessly simulate the look and feel of camera movements, lens and shot transitions, similar to film,” according to Secret Location’s website. The soundtrack was created by multi-platinum composer Tom “Junkie XL” Holkenborg, the composer behind Mad Max:Fury Road, Deadpool and Mortal Engines.
“The Great C” is rated T for blood and violence, and is available for $5.99 on the Oculus store, Steam, and Viveport.
