Every Thursday, for the last few weeks, folks have been gathering in the Riftmax Theater to sing their hearts out in front of a live virtual audience. Tyler Roach, the host of this event, was very excited to be on the podcast today.
When we were scheduling this podcast, Tyler mentioned that he had to wait until he got home from school before he would be available. High school, that is. Tyler, at the age of 17, represents the youth of the VR community. His age has not stopped him from being heavily involved though. He is a regular poster in the /r/oculus subreddit, he hosts the Karaoke night each Thursday, and he is developing his own VR tennis game in Unity. For someone his age, he is definitely contributing a fair amount of time to growing this community.
I have been a regular at these Karaoke nights, and I’m very sorry for anyone who has heard me attempt to sing. In contrast, I was pleased to hear that so many folks in the VR community have amazing voices, Tyler included. Tyler has been singing his heart out since he was two, and now he does it each week in VR.
Tyler is in the middle of a school project right now which involves the Oculus Rift. It is exciting to hear that there are teachers out there that are encouraging the use of this type of technology. With his Javascript and Unity skills, Tyler is preparing himself for an amazing and successful future.
Girls in VR? Yes indeed! Despite what the studies show, VR is very accepting of females. Tyler relates the tales of several female singers at Karaoke night and how well they are received. Unlike other social spaces on the internet, the VR community seems to have manners.
Thanks to Tyler for taking the time away from his homework to talk to me!
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