Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF). NFB invites ottawans to discover the Museum of Symmetry VR experience.

FILE: We’re not letting a power outage stop the fun! Come find us at the OTTAWA sign today in the market to join in the googly-eyed fun! (Photo: @OIAF_Animation/Twitter)

Museum of Symmetry, the virtual reality (VR) experience created by Ottawa-native cartoonist and animator Paloma Dawkins, will get its Canadian premiere in the official competition of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), September 26 to 30, 2018. The public is invited to come discover this truly unique museum and meet its creator from September 27 to 30 in the OIAF Arts Court.

Opening hours:

• September 27 and 28 – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• September 29 – 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
• September 30 – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Developed by Casa Rara Studio, Museum of Symmetry lasts 20 minutes and runs on the HTC Vive VR headset. The game begins in a 3D virtual museum. An impish game mistress welcomes you into a delightfully disorienting pleasure dome inspired by geometry and nature, and wired with infectious dance beats. You will be taken through landscapes of earth, fire and wind, from the highest clouds to the ocean deep, where vivacious 2D characters live in a 3D playground. A pleasure-positive trip through nature and self.

In addition to being a colourful adventure, Museum of Symmetry is also a technical tour-de-force. Paloma Dawkins’ hand-drawn, flat 2D animations were an unconventional choice for VR. To bring depth to her cartoons and produce an immersive experience, Casa Rara used scripts that ensured that the player never sees objects from the side, which would disrupt the illusion. But perhaps the biggest surprise is not what happens during the gameplay itself, but how you feel once you return to the real world.

Users of the HTC Vive VR headset can download this NFB VR adventure game for free from Steam and Viveport.

Museum of Symmetry is produced by Maral Mohammadian and executive produced by Michael Fukushima for the NFB. It was launched in April 2018 at the A MAZE. 7th International Games and Playful Media Festival in Berlin, followed by presentations in Annecy, France, Sao Paulo, Brazil and at SIGGRAPH 2018 in Vancouver.

About Paloma Dawkins

Montreal-based Paloma Dawkins is a cartoonist and self-taught animator turned virtual-reality and video-game artist. Known for her fantastical landscapes inhabited by strange and lovable characters, Paloma strives to create games that are surreal and beautiful. Her past work includes the technicolour rainbow graphic novel Summerland, the minimalist and meditative rhythm game ALEA, and the psychedelic explorer game Gardenarium. She first came to work with the National Film Board of Canada through its Hothouse animation-mentorship program, which resulted in Scientifiq Piqniq, an animated adventure through the cosmic unveiling of the beautiful and strange macro/micro structures that unite us with the Universe.

About the NFB

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is one of the world’s leading digital content hubs, creating groundbreaking interactive documentaries and animation, mobile content, installations and participatory experiences. NFB interactive productions and digital platforms have won 100 awards, including 18 Webbys. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for mobile devices.