Kent Bye (Voices of VR)
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kentbye.com
Kent Bye (Voices of VR)
@kentbye.com
4K followers 1K following 420 posts
Voices of VR Podcast host: Insatiably curious, XR oral historian, & aspiring philosopher.
Exploring Tech Ethics, AI, XR, & Emerging Tech.
Patreon at http://patreon.com/voicesofvr
Posts Replies Media Videos
kentbye.com
I've now published all 30+ hours of my Venice Immersive 2025 coverage. I categorized the projects into a dozen elemental genres to help navigate it. There's 64 possible combos of all four elements, but 12 primary dyads. I unpack it all more in this LinkedIn post:
www.linkedin.com/posts/kentby...
There are four elements (earth, air, fire, & water), and if you take into consideration the order / center of gravity, then there are 64 possible orientations. In looking at the dyadic orientations of two elements, then there are a dozen configurations that do a nice job of create "elemental genres" of immersive stories and immersive art. This post shows the twelve combinations, and then the associated projects underneath that.
August 13, 2026 at 3:27 PM
kentbye.com
This is an amazing archival montage documenting AR culture of HoloLens 1 & 2. Michael Hoffman says, "On the Microsoft HoloLens team, I had this idea to tell the HoloLens story in photos, so started collecting every image I could find, over 1,600." Lots of history here! picmotif.com/u/hoff/tribu...
A composite image of the HoloLens 1 on top facing right and HoloLens 2 on the bottom facing left made out of 1,600 public images. Creator Michael Hoffman says, "On the Microsoft HoloLens team, I had this idea to tell the HoloLens story in photos, so started collecting every image I could find, over 1,600."
August 2, 2026 at 8:39 PM
kentbye.com
Raindance Immersive curates the absolute best of virtual culture in VRChat. I’ve been a judge every year since 2020, and participated in this documentary coming out on August 9th. Excited to see this recap by @madamekana.bsky.social, the most prolific documentary maker in VRChat doing amazing work.
madamekana.bsky.social Madame Kana @madamekana.bsky.social · Jul 31
🔴 UPCOMING VIDEO

After two months of non stop-hard work I'm thrilled to finally announce:

VR PIONEERS🌑
Journey into new artistic horizons.
A one hour documentary.

📅 VRChat Premiere on August 9th 📅
August 1, 2026 at 5:35 AM
kentbye.com
I just posted a pretty epic video on "Blending the Elements of Experiential Design.

I'll be applying it to my 30+ hrs of oral history coverage of immersive stories from Venice Immersive 2025 & 15+ hrs of SXSW Immersive 2026 coming soon:
youtu.be/01M5NcOYzx0

Slides: voicesofvr.com/wp-content/u...
July 29, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Reposted by Kent Bye (Voices of VR)
lucidvirtuality.bsky.social
@kentbye.com had a fascinating conversation with my friends @grrlrighter.bsky.social and @whatashrinkthinks.com, highly recommended 😻
#1589: Using VR to Paint Dreams for Active Imagination, Collaborative Dreamwork, and Symbolic Contemplation - Voices of VR Podcast
I speak with visual artist Elizabeth Honer who uses Open Brush to pain her dreams as well as with Martha Crawford who leads dream workshops. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a l...
voicesofvr.com
July 21, 2026 at 10:22 PM
kentbye.com
I participated on a Socratic Debate about AI at Augmented World Expo where I represented an Anti-AI & Pro-Human Rights POV. I was called an "AI Denialist," which catalyzed me to collect 30k words citing critical AI scholars & philosophers presenting the skeptical take:
voicesofvr.com/1749-socrati...
Ava from Hacks says, "I just -- I got distracted researching the ethics of AI. Turns out, really bad."
July 13, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Kent Bye (Voices of VR)
kathrynyu.com
In 2022, I shelved my thesis VR game, Penrose Station, when I joined Twisted Pixel to work on Marvel's Deadpool VR (too much of a conflict of interest.)

Fast forward to 2026: Meta shut our studio down. 😔

And with the conflict gone, I finally had a reason to pick it back up….
July 9, 2026 at 1:12 AM
kentbye.com
I’m loving the “chaotic early WWW energy” here that the #ATproto represents. I skipped to the demos to see the wide range of decentralized apps that these savvy devs were able to assemble after a 4-hour @codetv.dev Web Dev Challenge. Lots of Wild West Experimentation Vibes.
youtu.be/S-XytKfGCO8?...
June 5, 2026 at 6:53 AM
Reposted by Kent Bye (Voices of VR)
rec-room.bsky.social
We apologize. :[
kentbye.com Kent Bye (Voices of VR) @kentbye.com · Jun 1
RIP Rec Room. 2016-2026. A bit of a shame to see another UGC-driven social VR app shut down. Export tools were recently provided to makers, but hoping to see more open source / open standards in XR in the future. My chat with Shawn Whiting reflecting on what happened:
voicesofvr.com/1719-rip-rec...
Image used on the blog post for Rec Room's closing that reads "School's Out for Rec Room"
June 4, 2026 at 9:48 PM
kentbye.com
I'm presenting new material at Seattle XR:
"Blending the Elements of Experiential Design"
XR is an interdisciplinary design discipline that's fusing together architecture, industrial design, theater, film, music, game design, web design, human computer interaction, social media...
luma.com/n8vhi1ue
A series of 9 different slides showing the fusion of elements together in the context of experiential design.
June 4, 2026 at 10:49 PM
kentbye.com
One of the paradoxes of the next paradigm shift is valuing human experience & emotion beyond rational facts that don’t change behaviors on their own. It’s a rejection of an objectified “view from nowhere” absent situated knowledges that come from a body, feelings, mind, & will.
youtu.be/z-XNH4upTVw
June 4, 2026 at 5:41 PM
kentbye.com
4 new Voices of VR eps:
Immersive Impact Review,
Impulse Impact Study,
Patterns of Meaning, Transformation & Impact
Open call from Agog on Climate Futures + Immersive Media

voicesofvr.com/1720-immersi...

voicesofvr.com/1721-impact-...

voicesofvr.com/1722-meaning...

voicesofvr.com/1723-agogs-o...
Four Voices of VR podcast episodes: Immersive Impact Review, Impulse Impact Study, Patterns of Meaning, Transformation, and Impact in XR, and an open call from Agog on Climate Futures + Immersive Media
June 4, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by Kent Bye (Voices of VR)
toddheberlein.bsky.social
This was an incredibly touching and informative conversation.

Certainly if you are in the AR/VR space I encourage you to listen.

But even if you are an entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur, you should check it out. The story of Rec Room as a business is fascinating all by itself.
kentbye.com Kent Bye (Voices of VR) @kentbye.com · Jun 1
RIP Rec Room. 2016-2026. A bit of a shame to see another UGC-driven social VR app shut down. Export tools were recently provided to makers, but hoping to see more open source / open standards in XR in the future. My chat with Shawn Whiting reflecting on what happened:
voicesofvr.com/1719-rip-rec...
Image used on the blog post for Rec Room's closing that reads "School's Out for Rec Room"
June 2, 2026 at 2:52 PM
kentbye.com
Gamer's Nexus details how NVIDIA is abandoning the PC:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUqQ...

This March 3, 2026 from /r/pcmasterrace foreshadows how Big Tech are abandoning personal computing in favor of AI data centers. They're pushing "you will own nothing and be happy."
www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterra...
Comic posted to the r/pcmasterrace subreddit on March 3, 2026 with the title "I don't like where this is going..." by /u/Desperate-Grocery-53 with the first pane in 2009 with two GPUs in a computer, then a giant GPU in 2024, but then in 2029, there's no local computer with a PC and GPU because everything is in an AI Data Center. The caption under the comic reads: "Updated that 2024 meme..." Source Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1rjse9e/i_dont_like_where_this_is_going/
June 2, 2026 at 6:36 AM
kentbye.com
RIP Rec Room. 2016-2026. A bit of a shame to see another UGC-driven social VR app shut down. Export tools were recently provided to makers, but hoping to see more open source / open standards in XR in the future. My chat with Shawn Whiting reflecting on what happened:
voicesofvr.com/1719-rip-rec...
Image used on the blog post for Rec Room's closing that reads "School's Out for Rec Room"
June 1, 2026 at 9:19 PM
kentbye.com
I have a ton of respect for @antonhand.bsky.social as an indie artist who's been updating his game for 10+ years. H3VR is the most sophisticated gun simulator, and he hasn't enabled users to shoot other humans. He uses absurdist humor & play to open minds to new ideas.
voicesofvr.com/1717-h3vr-10...
#1717: H3VR 10-Year Retrospective with Anton Hand: Origins, Design, & Evolution of "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes, & Hand Grenades" - Voices of VR Podcast
On April 5, 2016, Rust LTD’s Anton Hand released Hot Dogs, Horseshoes, & Hand Grenades (H3VR) in Early Access on Steam after seven weeks of development on this VR sandbox game that featured a handful ...
voicesofvr.com
May 15, 2026 at 5:52 PM
kentbye.com
H3VR is THE most elaborate & sophisticated gun simulator in VR, but @antonhand.bsky.social's condition is it will never be used to simulate violence against humans... only hot dogs. After a decade of R&D & 2 years of development, H3VR2 was announced today. His devlog: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK_6...
Question: "Will H3VR have Humans / Bipeds, Multiplayer PVP / Co-op?" Anton's Answer: "100% No! It will not."
May 6, 2026 at 5:51 PM
kentbye.com
Excited for CREATURE FEATURE's new indie XR games. A YouTube commenter spotted a subliminal message of @antonhand.bsky.social eating a hotdog. He said on his devlog that his new game would be announced. Also "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades" has been in Early Access for MORE THAN A DECADE now!
Anton Hand eating a hotdog as a subliminal message within the Creature Feature
May 6, 2026 at 3:46 PM
kentbye.com
I'm excited to attend the @pdx.atproto.camp meetup to see how the decentralized #ATProto ecosystem is developing.
I'm really impressed with the seamless @openmeet.net experience as an open source Meetup_com alternative, and how it links to the attendee profiles
platform.openmeet.net/events/atpro...
ATProto 101 + Hangout with your favorite ATmosphere nerds!
Tue, May 5, 6:00 PM PDT · 1551 Southeast Poplar Avenue, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, 97214, United States Come join your fellow idealists, builders, and shitposters for another meetup about th
platform.openmeet.net
May 6, 2026 at 12:11 AM
kentbye.com
There's some REALLY cool things happening with the Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition. The CIIIC’s €200 Million in public funding is catalyzing all sorts of immersive innovations, including artist-driven research into revitalizing civic society. Hear more:
voicesofvr.com/1713-ciiics-...
The CIIIC is develop an integrated program with five action lines that together create the desired impact on the Netherlands' economic growth potential and societal transitions. 1. Knowledge and Methods: Applied and practice-oriented research to develop better knowledge and tools for the effective and responsible development of Immersive Experiences [IX] 2. Human Capital: Expanding and strengthening the talent pool to conceptualize, build, and apply IX, as well as using IX as a learning solution. 3. Ecosystems and Facilities: Building a strong, interactive Dutch IX innovation ecosystem and supporting its research, education, development, and application. 4. Innovation and demonstration projects: Projects focused on the design, production, application, and impact of IX, bringing together public and private organizations, creators, and users. 5. Synergy and Coherence: Innovation Agenda + Public Values + Community & Events + Narrative and Communication + Knowledge Platform
May 1, 2026 at 9:14 PM
kentbye.com
Great @edzitron.com interview breaking down the economic infeasibilities of VC-funded #AIHype. He says the all-you-can-eat buffet style of AI subscriptions are burning cash at an unsustainable rate, and doubts consumers will pay for the amount tokens they actually use
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zECy...
How OpenAI ends and takes Oracle with it | Ed Zitron
YouTube video by The Tech Report
www.youtube.com
April 29, 2026 at 11:05 PM
kentbye.com
Thinking a lot lately about the merits of Pleasure Activism as a mode of resistance.

From my IDFA DocLab paper: “Chan & McKnight point to the pleasure activism movement that is "re-examining pleasure as a way to reclaim agency and resist oppression,"”
professionals.idfa.nl/stories/idfa...
Bunny on a sidewalk. Yard sign that reads: "Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage." Also “Now is the time to stop Fascism”
April 24, 2026 at 8:33 PM
kentbye.com
I still sometimes call posts “skeets” here to invoke the nostalgia of three years ago when it was born out of a reply-all Hellthread where folks were posting nudes and crashing @pfrazee.com’s timeline, @jaketapper.bsky.social said “skeet” on CNN, & the @washingtonpost.com posted a meme about skeets.
Skeet from Julius Goat from May 6, 2023 “Hell thread, tiddy posts Alf discourse from coast to coast What's hot? we don't care Tapper says "skeet" on-air Invite codes, Santos flips AOC gives makeup tips, Twitter diaspora now Dril and darth and nunes' cow,” The Washington Skeet John Cusack asking for a definition of Skeet. Mike McFilms replies “A blueSKy twEET SKEET Get it?” Pee Wee Herman with an edited sheet of paper that reads “skeet skeet skeet”
April 24, 2026 at 4:16 PM
kentbye.com
Here's some of my favorite @xoxofest.com over the years. They just launched a rad video archive:

@molly.wiki 2024
xoxofest.com/2024/videos/...

Nicky Case 2015
xoxofest.com/2015/videos/...

@contrapoints.bsky.social 2018
xoxofest.com/2018/videos/...

Dooce (RIP) 2015:
xoxofest.com/2015/videos/...
April 24, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by Kent Bye (Voices of VR)
langendijk.bsky.social
What’s next for immersive, AI, and interactive art? @kentbye.com reports on the 19th edition of the @doclab.bsky.social festival. Free download #xr #immersive
kentbye.com Kent Bye (Voices of VR) @kentbye.com · Apr 21
What’s next for immersive art? This 121-page report I wrote attempts to answer this by listening to what immersive artists have to say. The IDFA DocLab Immersive Think Tank Report is out now, & it's a roadmap to a community-driven, indie XR distribution network.
professionals.idfa.nl/stories/idfa...
IDFA DocLab Immersive Think Tank Report: Cross-sector insights and reflections on the future of immersive, AI, and interactive art.
April 21, 2026 at 8:48 PM