This VR experience opened my eyes to the future of creativity

Last night I had the pleasure of attending this year's OFFF Festival launch party, which, among the usual festivities, promised a cryptic "immersive experience" titled 'Formations'. The invitation gave me little context – a VR show performed to live music. The trad art purist in me was sceptical.

Admittedly, I'm a tough nut to crack – even the best VR headsets have done little to entice me, and the metaverse has always felt like a slight dystopian nightmare. While I entered the experience with my reservations well and truly held, I left with a sense of optimism. What I witnessed last night was the future of creativity, and I believe it has the capability to grow into something truly extraordinary.

Taking my seat in the auditorium, I was met with an unexpectedly plain setup – a large screen towering over a set of decks, a guitar and an electronic drum pad. As VR headsets were passed around, I sat anxiously anticipating my first trip into the world of VR. Where would I be transported? What wonders would I witness? I donned my device, and what did I see? A floor-to-ceiling brick wall.

An anticlimactic start, but thankfully, things started livening up once I'd made peace with how silly I must look gawking at the ceiling with my headset on. Accompanied by a live performance from the band Pivots, I was transported through vast desert valleys, skyscraper-clad cities and endless oceans, drifting through the air with a serene, inhuman ease. The swelling of the music paired with the immersive visuals made for a rich sensation of weightlessness – an almost out-of-body experience that left me with a visceral awe.

While the technology is undoubtedly impressive, it still feels as if it's not quite there yet. In one scene, I was transported to a space station as I clipped through its spinning parts, and in another, I had merged with a railing in a futuristic city scene. At times, we were brought back into the room through the fuzzy perspective of the VR headset cameras, which slightly killed the immersion and highlighted the headset's poor performance in the dark.

While I feel we still have a way to go with VR graphics, already there's an impressive sense of immersion, and the potential to create art that was previously beyond our perception is an exciting concept. Find out more about Formations on the Ristband website. For more creative insight, check out everything you need to know about using a VR stylus for digital art and design.