Imagine a giant gay bar hosting millions of people every day. That is Grindr, one of the most widely used geosocial dating apps for gay men. “Looking for?” is the ultimate question for gays in the digital age. It could be the start of a round of lighthearted flirtation, or a quickie in a bathroom booth, or a friend becoming a lover and then a part of your life. Reimagined with virtual reality technology, “looking” on Grindr through a flat screen can be reenacted in an immersive space with a head mounted display. Digital cruising in virtual space reinforces the “look” as the anecdotal ability of gay men to recognize each other with eye contact in the gay cruising culture. How is “looking” in a VRcruising space different compared with Grindr on a mobile phone? What forms of intimacy emerge through this digital mediation of queer sociability? How is virtuality negotiated and imagined in relation to intimacy during a pandemic disabling in-person encounters?
This multiplayer VR prototype is to explore “looking” as a core mechanism in the immersive environment. We will expand this mechanism with interactive narrative to address the question of “gayze” in the age of immersive spectacle.
Developed with HTC Vive, Unity, and Photon
In collaboration with Yidong Wang
Digital Intimacy Conference video presentation available here: https://digitalintimacies6.wordpress.com/digital-cruising-with-virtual-reality-looking-in-an-immersive-world/