As a creator that has been documenting VRChat via video for almost two years now, the best compliment I can possibly give this is that I'm jealous I didn't make it. This accurately (and perfectly!) captured the spirit of not just the VRC rave community, but the whole VRChat community. Rad stuff.
I’ve watched all of your videos and I watched them a lot while making this episode. You’re an inspiration and if anyone wants to learn more about this scene they should definitely check out your channel ✨✨
Thank you Josef, Electro, PBS, and all my VR family. PBS has been a huge part of my life for 40+ years. I'm honestly humbled to be part of this, and show our world and family to everyone. Everyone is equal, and all are welcome. ♥
This is such a breath of fresh air. You’re the only person I’ve seen take the time to understand our world inside VRChat from the outside. Most people who do “Metaverse” stories just focus on Meta and other corporate stuff, but you actually went to the people who LIVE in this community and highlighted what makes all of this so special to us! Really amazing 💙
Thank you Rys0n! That means a lot to me. I love meeting new people and trying to understand where they are coming from. I hope this video and other Subcultured episodes inspire others to do the same.
@@pbsvoices I entirely second Rys0n. This is probably the best outside reporting I've seen on VRChat and the real living breathing social VR scene that already exists. Far too many media sources give a report that's merely a half assed glance into something they plainly regard as an awkward curiosity, rather than actually going in and experiencing it properly. Too many talk about how "this will be the future" whilst showing embarrassing and soulless corporate looking avatars in motionless standing pose, or give air time to crypto hacks and scam artists. VR-Chat isn't the scene that everyone would choose show to their parents, or fully compatible with a mainstream audience, but what you captured here is real and genuine. And that makes it some of the best reporting that the "metaverse" subject has had to date. Not an empty promise, not a sales pitch. Real people living their lives. Thankyou.
"This is our metaverse, and nobody is stealing it" What a line. The VR dance community is something else. I've learned to DJ through VR and went from doing small shows in VRChat to performing on-stage at conventions. Thank you Josef and PBS for telling our stories. And shoutout to Ru and TOTC, who were two of my inspirations to pick up DJing.
I've been DJing in the VRChat scene for over a year and ahalf now, and I cannot even begin to describe how it has changed my life, not only as a producer and a DJ, but as an individual. Some of the single greatest friends, colleagues, and talent I have ever met in my entire life. Thank you for sharing a little bit of our story! Can't wait to meet you at some point and dance with you!
Finally, a news report about VRChat and VR culture that isn't saying it's taking over reality. I've been playing since day 1 of VRC and it's an amazing platform. I've learned how to make avatars in unity, learned sign language ASL and seen the deaf community grow, played D&D, went to bars/clubs with friends in the peek of the pandemic, meet some amazing people... it's just magic.
It was such an honor to help out on this episode! It turned out great, thank you so much Josef and PBS for showing your viewers our little VR community ☺
As an old nearly 50-year-old I envy you for the future that is creating itself when I was in my twenties and I would spend days playing early MMORPGs and reading cyberpunk books and thinking about what would the Cyber universe look like I am very happy that these communities are flourishing Mark Zuckerberg and his cronies will ruin what will be the metaverse I hope this community of ravers keep it growing in a grassroots home brewed with love and acceptance and not corporate greed
It's so wonderful to see our community be portrayed to the outside world in such a good light. VRChat raves are truly something special to experience and we hope to see you soon!
Another thing VR can be to people, is an accessibility aid, and a fascinating study into how accessibility concerns affect those who are in VR. I was speaking today with someone who did most of his VR in a wheelchair. To me he appeared as any regular person would, able to interact and play games just like the rest of us. That thought alone was really humbling and powerful.
This video is awesome! Thanks PBS for featuring our community :) I just made a similar video feature on my channel, too. Last month, me and fellow VR RU-vidr Thrillseeker held a giant collab event at one of these clubs called TUBE. It ended up being the BIGGEST VRChat community event to-date with over 1700 users dancing along at the SAME time. So crazy!! Hope more people get to see how exciting this scene is because of your video!
I was one of the first founding members of DDVR. I remember talking with Trigshot and Venerac and it came up "Hey, we started this new club thing last week, wanna join?" Up to that point there was no precedent for the VRC club scene. We literally wrote and pathed the way for the coolest VR experiences to date. TOTC is one of my buds and his entire map was inspired by the psychedelic experience that was WaveVR before that platform got shut down. His map is the inspiration to continue that aesthetic. Building things that are physically impossible to create IRL. VRChat, it's communities, and the friends and experiences I've made along my 5 year history of enjoying this new reality has literally changed my entire life permanently, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
The second I saw the concept of a virtual reality nightclub I'm like this place is gonna be full of trans people and furries I just know it!!! The Internet allowing us to transcend physical forms and enter a state of pure self expression is amazing! I'm FTM and I use gaming to cope a lot and basically live my life online where my circumstance doesn't matter because people only know me as who I choose to be it's so liberating!
That's beautiful. I love that it's a world where you can be anything. It really brings out the realness in people and the creativity is off the charts. people are amazing! -josef
@@bobnoxious3858 A furry is a member of a community of people who identify in some way with anthropomorphic animals. It is quite a large subculture. There are lots of furries in VRChat! :)
This was amazing. Thank you so much for taking an interest in the VRChat community and representing us in such an honest way. Everyone who was featured in the video: you're all absolutely legends and I love you tons
Sorry it took me a bit to respond. I was in complete denial of reality when this became something tangible. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to really explain everything that this means to us and what it is. And we love you for getting in the headset and living out some of those hours with us to really get an idea of it. The lore, the community of creators, dancers, DJs as well as all the people who come to share these experiences with us are a big family who make this the amazing thing that it is. Bless everyone for making this as great as it has come through the years. Thanks for being a part of our story and our legacy for years to come. Electro, Ru. Krisu, VRC Devs and everyone who just simply comes to be with us, you helped us shape this into something wonderful. Jojo and your team with PBS thank you so much for helping us open this door to the world ♡♡♡♡
The comments here are packed with so many names and icons I recognize, thank you for doing this community a real solid for once, this is a good example in classic media of what it's really like "in here" for us. A lot of negativity and FUD around vr journalism in the last 6 months, and this is a breath of fresh air.
After Strasz documentary about vrc rave scene i immediately downloaded VRC and started exploring the scene. Last 4 months changed my life for the better. This platform is amazing.
this was such a respectfully tatsefull documentary. thank you so much for making it! this whole scene means the world to me and it was amazing getting to see my friends talk about it!
I feel so honored to even be a part of these communities and attend events. Like many other, idk where'd i'd be if I wasn't here. Truely amazing people
Thank you so much to everyone who helped put this together! I've never seen a more detailed and heartfelt depiction of the many wonderful experiences my friends and I have had while exploring social VR. I've made very special lifelong friends, discovered music I never knew existed, and felt truly happy!
Yush, such a long journey and has evolved so much through the years. Certainly seen it grow is exciting and open your mind lot! And there is more story to tell about :3
For me the best part about the clubbing scene in VRC has been the ability to safely club from home. I live in an area where there are little to no clubs nearby and most that are nearby are not safe for women. so VRC gives me the chance to experience a club while being safe.
OMG this is giving me feels! ToT so many friends, and so many new people who look like they would be neat to hang out with. One of the best things about being part of this community since Jan 2018 is that I got to see it grow so much, while being a part of it! I have spent so much of my time after work building worlds and avatars, Creating avatars for others, helping people out with their content. Never in a million years did I think I would get the chance to do something so rewarding, and with such easy access to feedback and appreciation. I used to create indy games and post them online but I would get nothing but crickets. I helped create a VR furry convention when our in person event was cancelled. I had never even gone to the convention before but I wanted to make sure it could still happen. I have never met so many wonderful people in my life! People from every walk of life, all coming together to celebrate and be nice to each other. Now I want to continue to contribute to the community and to share my expertise and tools with others. I feel so very lucky to be a part of this and I want to share that joy with everyone! [Okay I typed out this comment before when there were only 4 comments but it was deleted because YT mistook it for spam.]
I’ve been in VRChat for about 2 years but I’ve really started to get back into it. It is truly my favorite game ever. Combining VR with full body tracking gives me true immersion. I’ve found some fantastic communities that I love being a part of. I’m close to comedy clubs and music rave clubs. Also hanging out with great friends is lit. It is honestly the most fun game/ social VR application I have ever played. I’ll never go back to flatscreen gaming. Trolls do exist, but they do on every platform and game. Block them, report, mute, and move on. That’s what is best. Set your safety settings properly and you are all good to go. VRChat isn’t perfect and there is still some work needed to get it rock solid. But it’s been improving ever over time and will continue to do so. Creating a custom avatar has been a pass time for myself. The process of adding new features, clothes, toys and accessories is so rewarding. Gives you a virtual identity. Thanks for reading my speech
Wanted to Point out few names and places that needs to be remembered since they were the spark for the foundation of the Dancing communities at the start. When there was no Dancing communities, there were individuals that created what we would experience making us feel the spark of trying to help evolve the scene. For 2018 Jan dancers or earlier, names as: Void Club, Club Aurora, Club Galaxy, Rogue Club (later but inspiring), Rave Robbie were our inspiration to know what it was the feel of been in this VR experience. Creators as Mochie / Lycon / Swiggity Swooty and the owners of those worlds were the first one giving the very first step to the foundation of clubs in VR, having playlists we would love, inspiring us to create a place where all people could get together on discord and make this events to happen. From DanceDanceVR / Dirty Dancers / VRChat Party Community been the big steps ones Allowed to evolve into Things as Elysium kmk, Just Party, Addiction Club, Serreality, Club Zodiac, Cannon Cove and more And Nowadays we have huge scene provides as Orion Club, Rizumu, Ghostclub, Shellter, Loner, Vaultage, Calibrate, MVP, Slyfest, Muzz events, Tube VR, Club 808, L.I.T., Club Emission on Vket / Interconnection... And many more to know and be on board to create new experiences!
I was expecting to feel adverse or negative about this... But I actually think it's beautiful and creative. Humans will always find a way to find love and connection and that is a beautiful thing
I don't actually blame you for the negative pre-disposition. Far too much of the common talk around the "metaverse" subject is fake and hollow coming from trend chasing corporations or phoney opportunist investors and crypto heads. There's none of that here. The VR scene shown here, has been my home for the past 4 years, and it's all grass roots passion built by people for people, not for the sake of some corporate/monetary ambition. No one is going to try and shill you an NFT in VR-Chat, there's no imaginary currency, no advertising, and no surveillance or personal data mining. Personality, passion and talent is what drives this space. You'll find few people who scoff at the "metaverse" talk more than the people here, because half of what these companies promise as being the "future" we've already been living for years, and are far ahead of. (Cue jokes about Meta claiming that having legs in VR is impossible)
@@UnknownSquid thank you for this response. It's interesting the direction the technology is taking and how people are rightfully reacting to it negatively as a result of corporate greed. It's nice to know that something organic that serves a real need and is art is happening. I'd love to DJ or dance along one day
Great piece on this, The video shows a nice sample of the rave scene in vrchat, this is just a sliver of what's on offer, but a great selection none the less. Glad to see Club RIZUMU featured, it was awesome to work on the club level and DJ there aswell!
Really appreciate this video my man. The VR space has been getting a bad name because of the lack of understanding behind it, both from a casual and corporate standpoint. I have played vrchat for about 4 years and this community has been one where I’ve felt most accepted and which offered something to come back to each and every time. At home, there is nothing close by where I can feel expressive (especially when it comes to music). I hope people take note of your video and start to get a better understanding of what the VR Rave scene really is.
Honestly, I've been apart of this community since 2018 and started getting into clubbing just last year on VR. It's so nice seeing a positive outlook on this, I've met a family in the clubbing community and my current partner. We're looking into moving in together within the next year. Honestly, Vr has been not only an escape but another reality we can have. Meeting new people experiencing things we only dreamt of experiencing in a sense. Fundamentally it's another way to make connections that many strive for in life
@@romanlegionary6376 tons more too. 2TD used to play magfest, grimecraft is extremely well known, Toriena has played for shelter and ghostclub and did Vket's theme song, PKCZ and exile tribe have done stuff with my team at virtual market (this is verbal from mflo/teriyaki boyz, makidai from exile, ) protostar does shows all the time, slushii has played for us and also for Tube with Phia and Thrillseeker, there's many, many more. We're getting noticed!
There's a lot crossing over, several bigger artists in my own niche are coming to vrchat either specifically for the music scene or they are just learning about it! Also Muzz lol. That AFK animation still gets me.
Other gamers that never played Vrchat love to judge. They don't really understand how amazing it can be. I met so many chill people from all over the world. I learned other languages as well. It's truly an amazing experience. I'm currently saving money to get full body! I can't wait to go clubbing with it one day.
yeah I only play with friends and maybe interact with some people. most seek actual friendships there and don't use it for casual fun. I get it, but feel like many are way too invested in this its scary@@Chalize
I think one of the things not mentioned in the video is that Joesph is “Jojo”, an amazing DJ in his own right that started Radio Book Club with Tinzo. Be sure to search for him on RU-vid, great sets!
VRC is kind of my main rave scene cuz I don't have anyone irl to go with and it's not as fun (or safe for me) to go alone. It's nice to see someone I respect as a dj like Jojo looking into it and seeing why we love it so much.
As a VRChat Player, i really like how you pictured VRChat by actually parttaking. This is something most people sadly won´t do. And thus people are missing out on a lot of fun. Thank you for the positive representation.
Thank you so much for this very down-to-earth coverage of the VRC club scene. 2TD and Kye are just two of the countless amazing folks I've befriended in VRC, and like they said, I also wouldn't know where I'd be without this platform and these people. It's unlike anything I've ever been a part of in my life.
I’d love to check this out! I was a raver when I was younger but still went to the occasional freetekno festival or beach party until the pandemic. Now it’s been four years without parties or party drugs & I’ve become extra introverted, but I still love to dance of course!! That first VR rave looks just like a party I attended on 3 different psychedelics in 2005 😅❤
this is so cool! i was the first dj to introduce live streaming in world to clubs such as ddvr, dirty dancers, was one the founders of elysium and first opening dj for rizumu ! my stream is featured on the display screen at 7:23! Aliquem is an awesome individual and im glad you interviewed them for this video.
@@pbsvoices I guess do you partake in any of the activities post airing? Do you see yourself hanging out in VR Chat afterwards? I can see the positives effects of VR chat, but it's also pretty infamous for the wild stuff that can happen in other parts. Do you see any negative side effects of VR chat like how we have with other social media ?
@@snowballeffect7812 This is a great question. I actually rented the gear I needed to make the episode and then after I returned it, I went out and bought a PC because I wanted to keep doing it. If I'm too sick or tired to go to an IRL event I can go to a VR event and still dance at home and I think that's awesome. Plus I met so many cool and interesting people and I'm bad at goodbyes. I've heard from many that visiting public worlds in VRChat can be potentially wild, but if you find a community of people you like then you're experience is only as wild as your friends are! In terms of the other episodes, I still loving playing games with Carlos and his friends, and I can't wait to make it to a gay rodeo to try goat dressing.
As a person just getting into this whole scene, I'm not going to lie, it's overwhelming. But getting into it knowing some insiders makes it soo much easier. It's a real movement of inner strength and peace pushed into a world made to be an extension of ones self. It's really beautiful.
This was a great piece, Kudos to Josef. The community aspect is awesome, I also think tho tho the intersection of visual art, music, reality, hardware hacking, software engineering, custom CDNs/networks for streaming is worth going further into. You can just feel the energy like a paradigm shift of thought and consciousness is occurring that will eventually be impacted back into reality with all participating accelerating us towards a precipice of change. Coverage like this helps ensure that said change wont be singularly controlled but rather spread out amongst a community so definitely thanks for this!
I love vrchat so much, without fail watching these sorts of videos always bring a huge Ile on my face This November it'll be 4 years being a part of it
that club designed by TOTC looks ABSOLUTELY AWSOME!!! but if I stared at the walls (if there are walls) or all the moving art graphics of the environment for too long I think I'd get a headache or something
@transversewithru sorry but I'm under 18 and have absolutely no idea how VR tech makes sure is doesn't give you a headache.😅 also I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to wear my glasses under the headset but idk maybe that's actually something headsets are made to work around and I had no idea lol
AAAH I NEED IN *renewed focus and intensity to get a VR set* thank you for bringing this to people who WANT in but can't always find those connections!
