In a former industrial Northern town where tensions are rising, audiences become the unseen guide to a boy seeking escape from an unsettled home and an increasingly fractured community.
The Poppitech Exception is an immersive VR story set in a former industrial Northern town shaped by loss and rising tensions. Audiences become the unseen guide to a boy navigating an unsettled home and a community turning inward. Moving with him through fragile domestic spaces, new-build estates and the quiet refuge of nearby woods, participants shape his path while remaining close enough to witness his vulnerability.
The journey leads to a derelict factory and a live encounter with an AI-driven device that responds in real time. This unscripted exchange allows each participant to influence how the story resolves.
Through this work, funded by Immersive Arts, we are exploring how third-person perspective and adaptive dialogue can open space for empathy, agency and shared authorship within immersive storytelling.
A narrative-driven VR adventure told from a 3rd person perspective
A unique cinematic approach to 3rd person gameplay in VR
Audience agency where players guide direction and make decisions
Compelling visuals with a large environment and realtime weather simulation
Immersive 3D audio and an original soundtrack
Experimental Large Language Model (LLM) integration contributes uniquely to the narrative
Explores contemporary issues around violence, nationalism and fractured communication
Available in alternative formats to VR including PC/touch screen
