Linden Lab have today announced that applications are now open for creator preview of Project Sansar. The first question on many people’s lips is going to be “What the hell is a creator preview?” The answer, it seems, is pretty straight forward, as the press release informs us :
SAN FRANCISCO – April 26, 2016 – Linden Lab®, the creators of Second Life®, today announced that applications have opened for an upcoming “Creator Preview” for Project SansarTM, the new platform for user-created social VR experiences. Interested 3D content creators can now apply at ProjectSansar.com and accepted applicants will begin to receive invitations later this summer.
So this is a preview for 3D content creators. The application form is pretty brief and asks you questions such as What type of content would you like to create in Project Sansar? Which tool(s) do you use to create content? Which headset(s) will you have access to, if any? There’s nothing overly intrusive in there.
If you’re wondering why Linden Lab are asking questions such as this, then there are clues in the press release :
Slated for general availability at the end of 2016, Project Sansar will democratize virtual reality as a creative medium. It will empower people to easily create, share, and ultimately monetize their own interactive social experiences that can be enjoyed in VR with head-mounted displays like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, as well as via PCs and, later, mobile devices. The platform enables professional-level quality and performance with exceptional visual fidelity, 3D audio, and physics simulation, while also solving the complex engineering challenges that have previously limited creating and publishing social VR experiences to just sophisticated professionals.
There’s nothing earth shattering or surprising there, we knew that Project Sansar was being built with VR headsets in mind. The press release also includes some not too revealing, but still interesting, quotes from Ebbe Altberg, Linden Lab CEO.
“Creating social VR experiences is too hard and expensive today, and that limits the value and growth of this incredible new medium,” said Ebbe Altberg, Linden Lab CEO. “Creating your own VR experience shouldn’t require an engineering team, and Project Sansar will make that possible. Over the past few months, a small number of creators have already made an impressive variety of awesome social VR experiences with Project Sansar, from virtual versions of real-world locations to fantasy worlds and stylized game-like environments, and more. We’ll soon be ready for many more creators to join Project Sansar, and we can’t wait to see what people will create.”
Again there’s nothing too surprising or earth shattering there, but a lot of people will welcome the idea that Linden Lab are building a platform whereby creating VR experiences should be less costly and easier to achieve, than they currently are today.
The Project Sansar website also has some interesting blurb alongside the application, whilst pointing out that at this stage, Linden Lab are seeking 3D content creators :
Project Sansar makes it easier than ever before to create, share, and monetize your own social VR experiences. We’re seeking skilled 3D content creators to be among the first to use this powerful new platform in our Creator Preview.
As things stand, nobody outside the inner circle has seen anything much of Project Sansar and I would hazard a guess that it will remain that way for quite a few months yet. The problem with allowing too many people early access is that there won’t be a fat lot to do for people who are not content creators. Design decisions can also change, quite drastically, at this stage of a platform’s development.
This press release doesn’t bring much new to the table in terms of what to expect from Project Sansar, but it’s an intriguing stage for content creators, those who may want to get a look inside should visit the application for on the Project Sansar website.