Actor Michael Smiley voices the character of Lil Mo for the project, the tour guide bringing users through VR Land to visit magical attractions and complete quests to unlock hidden secrets.
Neon has launched RETNE on Steam, a digital distribution platform, having created the project in partnership with Kainos, David Baxter, Enter Yes and Digital Catapult.
The project also received development funding from Northern Ireland Screen, with support from Invest NI. RETNE has showcased at SxSW17 in Austin Texas.
Much of the RETNE narrative is a metaphor for the concept of VR: the mirroring of the real world to create new and exciting environments and possibilities, the journeys you can go on and the tasks you must complete to further that journey.
Deepa Mann-Kler, Neon Founder: “Lil Mo is the character that’s in the RETNE story, and he’s absolutely vital, in terms of drawing you in and creating a bond with you, an empathetic bond, who you can trust in terms of going on the journey. I approached Michael Smiley, an award-winning Northern Irish actor. He said yes very quickly because he wanted to be a part of it. Lil Mo is Northern Irish and I really like that.
“RETNE is an all age animated immersive virtual reality experience built for HTC Vive that crosses the genres of gaming, education and entertainment. It challenges traditional VR gaming content that currently dominates the market. RETNE uses powerful storytelling with fully developed graphics and rendering that are executed with finesse and specially commissioned spatial audio.”
View RETNE on Steam