Immersive studio Kost announced today that the BAFTA-winning virtual reality experience BODY OF MINE launches on the Meta Horizon Store on June 13th during Pride Month. This will be the first LGBTQI+ experience of its kind to debut with Meta Quest on the storefront.
Created by Cameron Kostopoulos and produced by Michaela Ternasky-Holland & Amy Seidenwurm, BODY OF MINE allows users to step into the body of another gender leveraging Quest 3’s hand-tracking and Quest Pro’s eye-tracking capabilities for a unique immersive, embodied experience in VR. The technology is combined with the voices of trans individuals, discussing their relationship with their bodies, dysphoria, and gender euphoria.
BODY OF MINE was inspired by a desire to see immersive technologies provide a safe space for queer individuals, when a safe space in the real world can feel hard to find, while also fostering a deeper understanding of connections—and disconnections—between the body and mind.
Cameron Kostopoulos
World premiering in 2023, the experience went on to win the SXSW Special Jury Award, the Producers Guild of America Innovation Award, the BAFTA Student Award, Best XR at Games for Change, and more.
The project has been a part of international research, exemplifying its ability to be applied to therapeutic practices, among others. Alongside its release on Meta Quest, BODY OF MINE is engaging in a multi-prong impact campaign fostering conversations between trans youth and their parents, encouraging understanding of the trans community and experience, and to combat anti-trans legislation.
Kostopoulos is currently working on their second immersive project, A CURE FOR STRAIGHTNESS, an episodic series using haptics, AI characters, and mixed reality to “simulate conversion therapy for straight people.” The first chapter, premiering soon, uses wearable haptic vests to tell the story of a transgender survivor of electroshock conversion therapy.
BODY OF MINE is now available on Meta Quest. You can access the project here.
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