VR is not "Dead and Buried" if the Oculus team has anything to say about it. Oh also they not only care about VR but the people that make VR a reality like you and me.
So this is my OC5 recap, there are many like it, but this one is mine.
If you know the history of CatsAndVR you know it is closely tied to Oculus. The site was started prior to the launch of the Oculus CV1 and was inspired by my time spent with the DK1 years prior. In 2016 Oculus showed me an amazing time at E3 and pulled me out of the crowd to stream Dead And Buried on their E3 FB stream. http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/oculuse3
In 2017 I was able to take my experience and join the Oculus LaunchPad class that year, the lessons learned and experience gained will help me in both my career goals and life for years to come. http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/oculusblog1
Over the last year my passion for VR decreased and I became a bit more jaded towards it. Well leave it to OC5 to be an amazing and refreshing event.
I had a chance to speak to the Armature team who were super excited by the reception of their VR Tennis game. I also spoke with Dead And Buried producer Ryan Rutherford who let me know how happy he was to bring a different element to Dead And Buried as well as to potentially share the game with a bigger audience.
That is the thing about Oculus Connect, it is filled with people who generally want VR to grow and to be shared with as many people as possible. This brings me to my favorite part of Oculus Connect, the Diversity lunch. This year Ebony Peay Ramirez from Oculus helped to highlight so much of the diversity in VR and the keynote speaker was the awesome Deborah Guzman.
Deborah shared her story about leaving Puerto Rico to move to Silicone Valley with a passion to get involved in VR. Her story transcends the space but is an inspiration to anyone with a dream. Hearing her journey and seeing how much Oculus actually cares about the growth of the team was a revelation. They don’t just want to see VR grow but also the people in VR.
Last years keynote speaker was Caitlin Kalinowski, who is this year was listed as one of the most powerful female engineers by Business Insider. The fact that Oculus highlights not only the growth of VR but also the growth of the people within VR is why my passion for VR continues.
