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Press release:
Montreal, Canada, January 10th, 2025.
The Montréal-based (Canada) indie games publisher Signal Space Lab and Germany-based indie games developer Actrio Studio, are today very excited and happy to announce that their innovative VR interactive experience “Human Within“, is now available on Meta Quest (a (Steam versio will aoon also follow).

Human Within is a one-of-a-kind VR interactive experience that explores the profound influence of AI and advanced technology on society, highlighting the potential threats if misused.

Directed by Avi Winkler and Anne Weigel, Human Within unfolds in a modern world where Nyla, a cyber engineer, and her sister Linh, are employed at Forward Industries. Together, they pioneer a groundbreaking supercomputer by harnessing the human brain’s processing power. However, when Nyla seeks to disengage from the project, both sisters are detained, compelled to continue their work amidst suspicions of their employer’s hidden motives. In a daring bid for freedom, Nyla is forced to connect the technology to Linh, and use it in the very way she feared it would be.

Human Within combines a thrilling branching storyline with video game playability. Its blend of original storytelling and gameplay features offer players a distinct interactive experience. It differentiates itself with a unique integration of technical features that includes:

User Involvement: Experiencing the story from Linh’s consciousness within a virtual internet space provides a unique way to observe the events taking place and have a level of participation unlike anything else.
Point Cloud Interactivity: Explore environments in digital recreations. These sequences serve as pace-breaking moments where users engage with the story even further, bringing a whole new degree of interactivity to the mix.

Choice and Consequence: At key moments in the story the events that take place are defined by the user’s choices. These moments define how events unfolded in the past and determine how it all ends in the present.

Style Variety: The story is told across a unique combination of three distinct visual styles: The Internet Space blending 2D film and 3D graphics, Flashback Scenes with interactive 360 degree stereo film, and Point Cloud recreations with 6DOF 3D environments.

Signal Space Lab began pre-production of Human Within, in 2019, including script writing and prototyping the experience under the creative direction of Avi Winkler. Director Anne Weigel and award-winning German producer Actrio Studio joined the project and wrapped principal photography in December 2023

Human Within then began its festival tour in October premiering at FIVARS in Toronto on October 3rd and Beyond The Frame Festival in Tokyo on October 25th-27th, 2024.

Supported by Meta, Canada Media Fund, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and Filmstiftung NRW Germany, Human Within aims to raise the bar for interactive narrative VR experiences.

“Human Within is an experimental multimedia mix of film and interactivity that offers a one-of-a-kind look at what drives us to create new tech, and how technology shapes us in return,” said Avi Winkler, Creative Director at Signal Space Lab.

“We didn’t just want to tell a story in a passive way, but let the audience play a role in how it plays out. With technology rapidly advancing every day, we wanted to change the way we tell stories in turn.”

For more information on Human Within:

Own It on Meta Quest: https://www.meta.com/experiences/human-within/6218357148255323/
Wishlist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1546070/Human_Within/
Signal Space Lab website: https://signalspacelab.com/
Follow Signal Space Lab on Twitter: https://twitter.com/signalspacelab
Follow Signal Space Lab on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/signalspacelab/
Follow Signal Space Lab on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/signalspacelab
Follow Signal Space Lab on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgAUIL9nehvdBueA-Fdx3dg
Actrio Studio website: https://actrio-studio.de/
Follow Actrio Studio on Twitter: https://x.com/actriostudio
Follow Actrio Studio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actriostudio/
Follow Actrio Studio on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ActrioStudio
Follow Actrio Studio on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@actriostudio

About Signal Space Lab
Founded in 2014, Signal Space Lab is an award-winning interactive creation studio specializing in immersive XR entertainment, video games, and audio production. Our goal is to advance the art of interactive media by imagining and producing original, innovative, and memorable experiences that materialize into sound, visual, and gaming environments.