HIKKY expands their service lineup to include music concerts and events at their club in virtual reality (VR), Emission.
Club Emission is a music venue in virtual reality developed and operated by the Tokyo-based VR firm, HIKKY Co., Ltd. This venue is now open for new VR content production and development as an offering in HIKKY’s service lineup.
The demand for virtual venues like Club Emission has increased significantly as music events are being held online, and in this unique concert space, visitors can dance and socialize without worrying about social distancing or time zone differences. At the Club, users will discover a new form of entertainment produced using a blend of music, videos, and particle (or lighting) effects.
Our mascot, Vket-chan, gazing out at Club Emission from its second floor.
What is Club Emission?
Club Emission is a 2-story club in VR. On the first floor is a large flatscreen TV and a bar with stool chairs. The bar includes a gimmick where users can virtually “mix” their own cocktails. On the opposite side of the club, visitors wil find the AFK Lounge -- an area where users can take a break and relax after a long night of partying on the dance floor.
Next to the bar is the entrance to the stage room, which has a gigantic stage accompanied by a huge monitor in the backdrop. The lighting in the stage area changes according to the music to enhance the interactivity of the performance. Furthermore, the stage design can be altered based on the artist's vision and intended effect -- as an example, the stage was changed to a beachside venue for a recent DJ event with the artist YFU Baby.
Particle effects in full effect at a live concert for PCKZ, with a crowd of fans interacting at the event.
Highly optimized
Club Emission has no shortage of particle effects using advanced technical gimmicks, yet optimization allows the graphics rendering to be extremely lightweight and optimized to give users a smooth experience. Because the venue is in virtual reality, the technicians, performers, and staff can produce and attend the event from any location around the world without the need to hop on a plane and visit a physical venue.
The members of PKCZ also got into VR avatars for the event for a more interactive experience.
Hang out and enjoy the music
To attend the venue, visitors adapt a 3D avatar which they can use to move around the venue and communicate with other attendees. Users can enjoy the music and enjoy realistic communication thanks to avatar voices being louder as the speaking user approaches closer.
A top-down view of Club Emission, including a bar with self-mixed drinks and a DJ stage.
Access from smartphone and web browsers
Using HIKKY’s proprietary VR engine called Vket Cloud, users can easily attend the venue from multiple devices, including smartphones and web browsers on both Windows and Apple computers. Users can watch the videos playing on the wide-screen and enjoy the high-quality graphics without having to download an app -- they simply have to click a URL link to join the venue.
Case study: PKCZ
On Aug. 15, we held a live concert at Club Emission for the popular DJ groups PKCZ, which belongs to the talent agency LDH Japan. The floor plan and venue theme was designed by the members of PKCZ themselves, and they also performed live using 3D avatars. The performance was broadcasted live to the wide-screen display for a fully immersive experience not possible at a physical concert, but realized in VR.
After the live show, PKCZ had a meet-and-greet with their fans. Thanks to virtual reality, the artists didn't have to be concerned about security or social distancing. Furthermore, they were able to use this event to promote their new songs, which got picked up by the media thanks to the newsworthiness of the event being held in this distinctive way.
HIKKY is highly motivated to continue creating and developing new value in the music and entertainment industries through their technology like Club Emission and Vket Cloud.
Club Emission Tours
To have a tour of Club Emission or to simply learn more about it and how we can develop VR content, please book a 30-minute meeting with me at the button below:
About VR firm HIKKY
Founded in 2018, HIKKY is a VR company that organizes, produces, and promotes large-scale VR/AR events and contents. Its founding members include top-level creatives who lead the entertainment VR scene and are collectively committed to shedding light on talents that comprise the virtual communities.
HIKKY’s proprietary VR event, the Virtual Market series, has been held bi-annually since 2018 and has won several awards including grand prizes at the internationally acclaimed VR Awards and Japan-based XR Creative Awards.
