Originally Posted by
Wired
You’re not just a static observer in this world. Allumette was built for positional-tracking headsets, giving it a sense of dimension, realism, and dynamic perspective. Lean in towards the Smurf-size characters and tiny bridges to get a closer look. View the protagonist from all sides, following her around the corner of a winding staircase. Walk around a bit inside the miniscule, Venice-inspired city in the clouds, taking in the scenery from any angle you like. Oh, and you also have X-ray vision: Poke your head through walls and windows to see important plot developments going on inside. There’s a story unfolding—a heartbreaking one, at that, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s short story “The Little Match Girl”—and you’re the director of photography.
No matter what your personal shot list entails, Allumette clocks in at about 20 minutes. That may qualify as a short film in the boring old world of 2-D movies, but it’s practically Gone With the Wind for a format where most experiences run about five minutes. After that much time with a face-computer strapped to your mug, you might think you’d be dying to come up for air. Instead, Allumette puts you inside a world you don’t want to leave. And once you reenter reality, you’ll want to watch it again—in part because it’s so beautiful, but mostly because you’ll want to make sure you didn’t miss anything going on inside the walls (and hulls) of this virtual city.
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