Lofty Sky Entertainment today announced the release of Verse VR, a virtual reality experience that showcases classic poetry and traditional art. Available now on Meta Quest, PC VR and Steam, the app allows users to explore music, art and storytelling from various cultures around the world and through time in beautiful settings. It features eight environments total, with 28 song poems and songs with illustrations (39 in the game’s Deluxe Edition).
The game’s environments range from a Tang Dynasty-era Chinese garden, to a Victorian conservatory, to even the mythical city of Orphalese, inspired by Kahlil Gibran’s book The Prophet. Judith Cheung, Lofty Sky’s creative director, described the game thus in a statement, “Verse VR is an immersive journey through poetry, music and oral traditions from cultures around the world.”
Lofty Sky created Verse VR with help from collaborators, including traditional artists from West Africa, China and the Middle East. Many of the musical and oral tracks are embedded in the environments, to be discovered as players explore and reach certain trigger spots. Today’s UploadVR Showcase included a feature about Verse VR, showing the West African environment.
Thierno Soumaré of the Batuki Music Society was one of the game’s featured collaborators who helped create the West African music-scape. He said of the app: “Most people never get a chance to hear the songs and stories of my culture. But for Verse VR, we worked with traditional Malian griots to bring those experiences to life.”