Agnes Bakk joins the FM Spatial Storytelling track to discuss Sanctuary, a VR nature experience designed through co-design and clinical research to support elderly adults and long-term hospitalized patients. The conversation explores theater, magic, immersion, accessibility, healthcare design, and the therapeutic potential of spatial storytelling.

How do you design a mixed reality attraction that works for families, first-time players, noisy public spaces, and people of all ages without relying on instructions, traditional UI, controllers, or even headset straps?

In this episode, Allan Yde shares a practical breakdown of building large-scale mixed reality experiences for location-based entertainment. He explores the realities of designing for public venues where players need to understand the experience immediately, interactions must feel natural, and every object should respond in a satisfying way.

Topics include hand tracking, no-controller interaction design, diegetic UI, physical wand prototypes, non-linear attraction layouts, spell-based mechanics, simplifying puzzles, testing outside the studio, designing for children and older adults, and using body occlusion to keep shared MR spaces safe.

A grounded look at what it takes to move mixed reality beyond the prototype stage and into real-world attractions people can actually play, understand, and enjoy.

Alex Coulombe interviews Tupac Martir for FMX 2026’s Spatial Storytelling track, discussing VR, mixed reality, virtual production, AI agents, and why immersive technology must serve the story.

Alex Coulombe was invited to host the very first Spatial Storytelling track for FMX in Stuttgart, Germany. There were 4 speakers on-site and four remote. Alex interviewed 3 of them, and FMX has kindly allowed us to re-post those discussions here.

Learn more at https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2026/list?t=1938

In this session from the FMX 2026 Spatial Storytelling Track, host Alex Coulombe sits down with creative director and creative technologist Kevin Young for an engaging conversation about spatial storytelling, immersive experiences, and the future of interactive media.

Drawing from his work across Framestore, Wētā FX, Nexus Studios, The Mill, HBO, and The Guardian, Kevin shares the design principles that guide his approach to creating compelling XR experiences. He explains how successful immersive projects balance narrative, technology, aesthetics, mechanics, audience presence, and meaning, using real-world examples from award-winning productions.

Alex and Kevin discuss 6x9: A Virtual Experience of Solitary Confinement, designing accessible mobile VR, spatial audio, creator tools, rapid prototyping, ShapesXR, Quill, Unreal Engine workflows, intelligent virtual creatures, HBO's House of the Dragon: DracARys, machine vision, location-based entertainment, immersive cinema, and the creative tradeoffs between accessibility and premium experiences.

Throughout the conversation, Alex's thoughtful questions help translate complex technical concepts into practical insights for developers, designers, filmmakers, technical artists, and immersive storytellers.

Topics Discussed

• Spatial storytelling and immersive design

• Experience design frameworks

• Narrative, technology, and mechanics

• 6x9: A Virtual Experience of Solitary Confinement

• Mobile VR and accessibility

• ShapesXR, Quill, and Unreal Engine

• Intelligent AR creatures and machine vision

• HBO's House of the Dragon: DracARys

• Rapid prototyping and creator workflows

• Location-based entertainment

• Immersive cinema

• The future of spatial computing

Guest

Kevin Young is a creative director and creative technologist specializing in immersive entertainment, XR, interactive storytelling, and spatial computing. His career includes work with Framestore, Wētā FX, Nexus Studios, The Mill, HBO, and The Guardian.

Host

Alex Coulombe is an XR developer, educator, and host of the Unofficial Unreal Engine Podcast, where he interviews industry leaders shaping the future of real-time technology and immersive media.

RSS Keywords

FMX 2026, FMX, Alex Coulombe, Kevin Young, Spatial Storytelling, Immersive Storytelling, XR, VR, AR, Mixed Reality, Spatial Computing, Unreal Engine, Framestore, Wētā FX, The Mill, Nexus Studios, Experience Design, Interactive Storytelling, AI, Machine Vision, House of the Dragon, DracARys, 6x9, Location-Based Entertainment, Immersive Cinema

Tickets for the FINAL live shows of A Christmas Carol VR this weekend:https://xmascarolvr.com

Unreal Fest and XR Bootcamp Talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1J25jJ79U8&list=PLBHPEwkDnRDemC1EPbDIyKhkXu5gPGWFN&index=1

Unreal NYC Talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skftiacxR2E&list=PLpC5Swh5jFZK-EafIStqWIu5SEOcj5d0i&index=3

Unreal NYC Discord: https://discord.gg/4852FvQtj5

Unreal NYC Community:https://communities.unrealengine.com/new-york/

Unreal Academy: https://academy.unrealengine.com/

Unreal Galaxy XR Template: https://github.com/agilelens/AndroidXRTemplate

Star Wars Halcyon VR Archive: https://github.com/agilelens/halcyonvr

SIGGRAPH Paper "Seeing Yourself on Stage": https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3721244.3742445

New Agile Lens website: https://www.agilelens.com

Worlds in Play: worldsinplay.com

Your Mind Girls Live Mixed Reality Theatre: https://www.hopehutman.com/ymg-2025

Glassbreakers: https://www.glassbreakersgame.com/

In this episode of the Unofficial Unreal Engine Podcast, host Alex talks with Tom Wexler of 59 Productions about bringing Stranger Things: The First Shadow to life on stage. They explore how Unreal Engine powered stunning flyovers of Hawkins and enabled rapid iteration for a groundbreaking theatrical experience. Tom shares insights into his journey from live music visuals to cutting-edge VR tools for previsualization and stage design. Learn how the team balanced ambitious real-time tech with rock-solid reliability for a show that feels both cinematic and theatrical. Plus, behind-the-scenes stories from their Royal Shakespeare Company collaboration and why liveness in theater still matters in a digital age.

StrangerThingsOnStage.com

https://59.studio/

https://www.tomwexler.com

#UnrealEngine #VirtualProduction #StrangerThingsTheFirstShadow #UnrealPodcast #TheaterTech #VRDesign #59Productions #StageDesign #Previs #RoyalShakespeareCompany #UE5 #LivePerformance #VolumetricCapture #ImmersiveTheater

Alex takes you on a literal walkthrough of the facilities, useful tips for Unreal Fest 2025 and talks with guest Filip Iliescu about current projects.

Filip Iliescu

https://github.com/Ancient23

https://x.com/firechant

https://www.ayadog.com/

Catch the latest Unreal Engine news with Alex Coulomb!

This episode covers:

🌎 Unreal Fest 2025 – From Orlando to Stockholm and beyond!

🔥 FAB integration updates in Unreal Engine 5.5.

📚 Unreal Engine training resources & classes.

👁️ Unreal Engine VR blink detection improvements.

💡 Tips & insights for Unreal developers.

Subscribe & Follow: [YouTube.com/IBUs]

Unreal Engine Training - www.alexcoulombepresents.com

Matt Workman's 'This Week in Unreal' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWNOQikrjUk&list=PLlzGoJuY2GCqYDDPVnSCNArVeG_d7c7tM

Epic Games at GDC - https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/events/gdc-2025

Unreal Fests - https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/news/unreal-fest-2025-is-coming-to-a-city-near-you

Fab - www.fab.com

Connect on Socials: Alex Garland Presents Hashtags: #UnrealEngine, #UnrealFest, #GameDevelopment, #UE5, #VirtualReality, #UnrealEngineTraining, #FABUpdate, #GameDesign, #UnrealCommunity,