And I was wrong! CLASS OF 2020 GRADUATION EVENTS . According to Sapna Parikh, Assistant Director of Visual Storytelling at NYU, VR Grad Alley — built by a team of 11 students in collaboration with VR arcade Jump Into the Light, VR cinema Playlab and Volumetric Studio — immediately caused waves over social media when it was first announced by the university. The only food available was the food on the long tables in the middle of the tent, and it wasn’t available for eating: you were supposed to throw the food at other people in the room. I started throwing food by myself and got bored pretty quick, but when I tried to leave, the portal I needed to click was blocked by two buttons. The Class of 2013, their families and friends were invited to “Check-In” at Grad Alley! I know none of the creators intended that and it was built with love. I thought they would follow me in but alas, I was alone. 75 Third Ave. #SB07, New York, NY 10003. I felt like the elderly man in that. See 10 photos and 2 tips from 580 visitors to NYU Grad Alley. All NYU. Fortunately, after a bit of technical troubleshooting, I was able to get VR Grad Alley running through Google Chrome on my gaming laptop. ‘We Are Who We Are’ Is An Artistic Triumph For The…. I was also in the room alone, so I couldn’t flex my knowledge of which famous NYU alum was on the fencing team (Neil Diamond). TUESDAY, MAY 19 GRAD ALLEY West Third Street . I wish I could have celebrated with others in this room, but it was just a party of one. “Are You There God? Upon walking inside of one of the spheres, I found out that the displayed picture would create an optical illusion and seemingly occupy the entire space around you, essentially placing you inside a 360 degree snapshot of that location with the ability to turn and look in any direction. Commencement (New York University) The President of New York University will preside over the event and confer degrees. I . The landing page says to use G to toggle fly mode but I was unable to find a similar indication in the game itself, so I left it on. For more information about this project or VR development, please visit JumpIntoTheLight.nyc It was tough to rotate and move the camera – I would have to grab it and physically move my character to move it around, and the main set with the frame and congratulations was so big that the camera had to be quite far away to fit it all. It was one of the first rooms I joined, and no one else was in there with me for the entire duration I was there. Virtual reality block party - NYU Grad Alley 2020 - created by Jump Into The Light NEW YORK (PRWEB) May 19, 2020 Faced with the postponement of their popular pre-commencement celebration, NYU is 5-8 p.m. WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 NYU COMMENCEMENT Yankee Stadium . Floating around, I found that there was no collision whatsoever with the default fly mode enabled. Phone: 212-998-5300. Unfortunately, I suppose I will never learn just how many people were in NYU’s first graduating class. Any fun to be had through exploration was bogged down by a huge amount of bugs, glitches and intuitive controls. Humoring the maze, my godly avatar phased around to find its secrets – four floating, glowing books likely bound by arcane magic and written by great authors who attended NYU. It was tough to rotate and move the camera – I would have to grab it and physically move my character to move it around, and the main set with the frame and congratulations was so big that the camera had to be quite far away to fit it all. The graphics and decor of the room made me feel like I was playing a computer game from programs in elementary school. When I moved closer to or further from the board, the size of the pieces stayed the same and also never left my screen, so if I moved away and then came back, all my pieces were slightly shifted to different locations on the board. The blocky landscape and virtual peg dolls in the promotional material for VR Grad Alley invited me into a world that was sure to titillate and mesmerize. Whether you finish your degree during September 2020, January 2021 or May 2021, we are very proud of you, and we look forward to celebrating your achievements! I put down my phone and carried on with my life when I second guessed myself, “Did I dream that or was that real?” I thought to myself. AH: I feel like this would have been really cool if it was in real life. The development and turnaround for this project was amazing and well-intentioned, but still led me feeling for what this year’s grads got after four years. About NYU. Though you could take photos of your avatar pretty much anywhere in the Virtual Grad Alley, this room hosted a number of props for you to really take your photos to the next level. Provided the low-polygon aesthetic of the world in the previews, I expected VR Grad Alley to especially be in line with the gameplay and feel of “Roblox,” which I would welcome considering my nostalgia for that game. Whoever made it there, I hope you enjoyed playing with the little rubber duck that I so desperately wanted to find. I walked to West Fourth and stared above at Kimmel and Bobst, longing to be there instead of virtually present on the opposite side of the country. Once I had located one of the many available whiteboard screens, a prerecorded video told me my clue was “Bobst Library.” I tried my best to draw a building that somewhat resembled Bobst with the surprisingly accurate pen tool, but within a few seconds, the prompt had already changed and instructed me to draw Washington Square Park. But after an hour of playing, I had a headache so big that I’m still feeling residual effects. It was satisfyingly bizarre. Obviously an event like this could never fully replicate the real-life counterpart, but it just feels devoid of all the liveliness and excitement that I imagine would be present at the in-person Grad Alley. There were clues strewn about rooms that I assumed lead you to the Secret Room, but maybe my logistical and gaming skills aren’t as developed as I thought to find it. Photo by John Hollands.. Today, after much virtual pomp and circumstance, NYU’s Class of 2020 graduated into an uncertain world. I’m not the most seasoned Pictionary player, but I’d imagine you would need slightly more time than what was available here. The Class of 2020, their families and friends will be invited to this Commencement eve celebration—an outdoor festival featuring music, dancing, street performers, food and fun! It was one of the first rooms I joined, and no one else was in there with me for the entire duration I was there. The low-polygon version of Washington Square Park lurks very deep in the depths of the uncanny valley for me. ... ucose@stern.nyu.edu ; II . I quickly found another interactable music square and paused the sounds of birds and cars. SPRING 2020 STERN SENIOR SENDOFF Location TBD . It was time to play. The last problem was that I was alone. However, after the. AH: I wish I would have known more about the Trivia Lounge going into it. I thought they would follow me in but alas, I was alone. It had relaxing music, and cute dolphins in the background. I have never been to the “real” in-person Grad Alley, but I have an idea of what carnival games in a crowded park in the sweltering summer heat might feel like, so I was game for anything really. "3 free bottles of ZICO coconut water if you tweet a pic at our booth! In an email sent on Tuesday, May 19 to students, NYU Provost Katherine Fleming announced a series of plans being considered by the university in order to avoid a fully remote semester for the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. My computer was only running that single program and it was hissing so loudly the entire time that I was afraid it would break. = Fall 2019, Spring & Summer 2020 - $14,676 each semester Fall 2020, Spring & Summer 2021 - $14,676 each semester NYU Steinhardt offers various forms of financial aid to fund your graduate studies – from scholarships, funding, and fellowships to loans and work-study. What Does It Feel Like To Lose a Best Friend? Menu Skip to All NYU Navigation Skip to Main Content. Yeah. I phased through the ground to find a black box with a musical note on it and, upon closer inspection, saw that it had pause, volume control, and rewind/fast-forward buttons. I made a joke about shifting into. Given the time constraints on its creation and the nature of virtual reality games, which are in that awkward phase that all new technology goes through and that birthed the Zune and Friendster, it was apparent what I was walking into. How come I couldn’t find any in the other rooms? I was very confused by Chess in the Park. I . Recent projects include Red Velvet (NYU Grad Acting),“Marimba” Choreographed by Lar Lubovitch (Second Avenue Dance Company), and Out of Order, a short film by Brandon and Cameron Laventure. Once I had located one of the many available whiteboard screens, a prerecorded video told me my clue was “Bobst Library.” I tried my best to draw a building that somewhat resembled Bobst with the surprisingly accurate pen tool, but within a few seconds, the prompt had already changed and instructed me to draw Washington Square Park. As I explored the large space around me, I couldn’t help but feel slightly unnerved. NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing Valedictory Virtual Celebration We are excited to celebrate the time-honored ceremony of pinning for the January 2021 Baccalaureate Candidates for Graduation. Out of all the areas I visited, I spent the least amount of time here. One thing that stuck out to me was a “lounge” area surrounding a fire pit. The music was cool, and looking back on my selfie from the event it proved hard to capture my excitement in my avatar’s dead-eyed stare. When another player joined me, the sound effects restarted but the music was still disabled. It was time to play Pictionary, and though I was the only one on this island, that was not going to stop me. This was actually my favorite room out of all of them. Nonetheless, with the music silenced by my hand once again, I was able to get a couple of odd shots of my avatar, clad in the skin of a stereotypical Frenchman uploaded from my computer, for the family photo album. Our world-class students, faculty, and scholars expect high achievement in pursuit of engaging the world's diverse challenges. I noticed a Cruise Ship and an island in the distance, so I decided to fly on over, which took a long time. At the current location that I’ve quarantined with my family at, I’m still in the same time zone as New York, but the Wi-Fi is spotty at best. The first was that it wasn’t real life — it was 6 p.m. on a Tuesday, and I was sitting in my bed wearing fuzzy socks. When I moved closer to or further from the board, the size of the pieces stayed the same and also never left my screen, so if I moved away and then came back, all my pieces were slightly shifted to different locations on the board. Grad Alley. It was time to play Pictionary, and though I was the only one on this island, that was not going to stop me. I noticed a Cruise Ship and an island in the distance, so I decided to fly on over, which took a long time. I had no expectations going in, only connected to our WiFi router a room over and on Google Chrome via my MacBook (which is hardly built for the Sims, let alone a VR-experience), and with general intrigue as to how this was going to work without getting hacked fifteen minutes in. contact: ucose@stern.nyu.edu . I had fun. Interestingly, there was no one in the room with me. With no one else to play with, I took to raising an army of horses by duplicating the knight piece. I was definitely excited, but in the same sort of way that a second-grader is excited on the first day of school: 90% excited, 10% terrified. It filled me with dread. I’ve played multiplayer games with friends online before, but I wasn’t sure how this was going to pan out, especially given that it was supposed to be VR and it seemed like a direct replica of our Washington Square Campus. NYU . I quickly found another interactable music square and paused the sounds of birds and cars. I didn’t immediately find a way to shut off the music here, which would have been a blessing as the blaring action movie soundtrack quickly gave me a headache. 188th Commencement Exercises I could have teleported using the right mouse button, but this takes a while to hold and release, only blinking you a short distance, so I supermanned it. I appreciated the granite material made up on the base of the Statue of Liberty and “flew” all the way up for a “selfie” with her. FEG: I did not find the portal to the secret room myself but was kindly shown around by Parikh. When I was checking out one corner of the room, I heard the ticking of the video start up again. Their good intentions are apparent, and I am a firm believer that it is the thought that counts. Tisch Salute to the Class of 2020, originally scheduled at Radio City Music Hall, has been postponed. Come get hydrated!" Unfortunately, the quality of intentions does not define the final product. I couldn’t really play Pictionary by myself so I just wrote “hello” on one of the screens. When I was checking out one corner of the room, I heard the ticking of the video start up again. Perhaps that’s due to the game’s seeming determination to split every single one of its players into their own isolated servers for no reason, but even the elements meant to celebrate the graduating class of 2020 feel empty. Though most of these props were signs with different basic phrases related to graduating on them, I also found a massive untextured block seemingly made up of smaller cubes arbitrarily glued together that I could pick up and move around. *COMMENCEMENT nyu.edu/commencement contact: university.events@nyu.edu **BACCALAUREATE . When I first saw the official NYU Instagram page post — that first promotional picture for Grad Alley (we all know which one) — I thought it was actually the NYU meme page that posted it. The students and staff who worked on this project took it upon themselves to provide us in the class of 2020 with a gift as we miss out on the traditions that our predecessors enjoyed. In his initial email postponing the in-person ceremony President Hamilton stated the university would hold one eventually, although the details still remain unclear. I figured this may have been a problem for others too, seeing that NYU’s Instagram started posting codes for a more general audience to join and interact with each other as the night was closer to ending. If my divine avatar could speak, I imagine he’d have chuckled and said “Yes.”. Left again to my own devices, I tried turning off fly mode to actually climb the tower but could not find a way to jump up onto the first platform. I appreciated the granite material made up on the base of the Statue of Liberty and “flew” all the way up for a “selfie” with her. Heather was the Resident Fellow of Rhode Island School of … (That only looked cute from afar, I went up close to them and got freaked out by their frozen stance in mid-air). I rushed over to the screen, only to find that it had stopped on a different question. Second, you must use your NYU Net ID email and it must end with an “nyu.edu” domain. I copied it twice and posed with a picture of Plankton that I imported into the game as a 2D object by picking an attachment from my computer and called it a night. Here’s what happened. Abby Hofstetter: I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Arguably an NYU staple, the annual party for graduating seniors closes off West 3rd Street for blocks. I was panicked. Five minutes into VR Grad Alley I was alone beneath Washington Square Park in the silent nothingness. I started throwing food by myself and got bored pretty quick, but when I tried to leave, the portal I needed to click was blocked by two buttons. In mid-March, the university transitioned to remote classes due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. I . I agreed, and then they left. Login Sign Up Upload. Unless otherwise noted, all content copyright New York University. The only interaction I had throughout my whole gameplay was in the park with someone who told me that they were proud of me. Getting a sneak peek beforehand, the Secret Room was a platform amidst a purple galaxy, with a ticketbooth showcasing the music that was playing. It was a bit stressful, especially because I was still trying to figure out how to work the game. NYU VR Grad Alley is a creative collaboration of the NYU Office of University Events and the NYU Office of Public Affairs along with the design team at Jump Into the Light, a VR Cinema, Playlab, and Volumetric Studio based on the Lower East Side in New York City.. I felt like the elderly man in that Pixar short, but minus the skill and half the chess pieces. Manipulating objects was a bit laggy and frustrating, so I took to launching my horsemen to the skies and, because of the floaty, spacey gravity of the game’s physics engine, watched them soar in slow motion into the realm of the bobcat. My patriotic duty fulfilled, I flew to the chessboard. WSN’s top gamers went to Virtual Reality Grad Alley. Cancel. All-NYU Commencement. The music was solid but I didn’t know it, and I couldn’t dance — I didn’t know if my avatar could do that, and if it could, I had no idea how to set that in motion. CLASS OF 2020 GRADUATION EVENTS . The view of the skyscrapers surrounding it made me miss New York City, and reminded me of the PlayStation 4’s Spider-Man game. I’m usually terrible at mazes (and the fact that I was never really sure what direction my avatar was going in didn’t help), but I got through this one with relative ease. Login Sign Up Upload. I’ve never gone to Violet Ball, but it gave me a similar vibe: a cool party in a place you would not expect a cool party to be. On a lone, purple platform set against a slowly turning interstellar sky, I looked out at a rocket ship and the Earth itself. According to Sapna Parikh, Assistant Director of Visual Storytelling at NYU, VR Grad Alley — built by a team of 11 students in collaboration with VR arcade Jump Into the Light, VR cinema Playlab and Volumetric Studio — immediately caused waves over social media when … Washington Square Campus. I understand the motives behind Grad Alley: connecting seniors with one another just before graduation is a noble effort, and I commend it. I’m not sure if all of this means that this maze was ridiculously easy or if I just got lucky, but who cares? The landing page says to use G to toggle fly mode but I was unable to find a similar indication in the game itself, so I left it on. I panned out of the tent to find a chess pawn telling me this was a “clue.” What was this clue for? My experiments with equine cloning quickly grew tiring. I walked (or flew?) In mid-March, the university transitioned to remote classes due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a screen showing a DJ using a touch bar, and I wondered if this was live or a pre-recorded video. NYU’s Class of 2020 Graduates Over Livestream. FEG: Floating gray platforms dotted two paths up the outside of the Empire State Building with the object of the game being to race against a friend to the top. New York University (NYU) was rated the maximum five QS stars, achieving full marks in the categories research, innovation, facilities and specialist criteria. There was hardly anyone in the rooms I entered despite always telling me beforehand that there were 30+ users within. There was hardly anyone in the rooms I entered despite always telling me beforehand that there were 30+ users within. But I was in the Food Tent alone. Celebration for the Class of 2020. Navigation basics; All controls; Orbit around. TUESDAY, MAY 19 GRAD ALLEY West Third Street . There were props, 3D backgrounds, “#NYUGrad2020” frame below the word “congratulations” and a beach background complete with palm trees. Tuesday, May 19, 2020, 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. Music, Food, Entertainment, for all 2020 Graduates and Guests. Moving around this digital version of the center of the New York campus does remind me of the real-life location, but more in the sense of reminding me how much I would rather be there than here on my laptop. My little avatar imagined other VR Grad Alley avatars sitting on the couches surrounding the pit sipping on a coffee donned in their caps and gowns, but it was just me. Here’s some places they enjoyed on Tuesday, May 21st. NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Without joining a friend’s room, you couldn’t freely explore and find others like you would online on Minecraft or Roblox. I . I definitely understand the intention behind it: Grad Alley is usually a carnival-esque street fair, and the food there matches the theme. As WSN’s four resident gamers, we felt obliged to report on it. I flew to the roof where I found a model of the NYU torch. towards the source of the sound and found that the lounge opened up into a larger room with a single screen in the center displaying a prerecorded video. I stopped playing but left the tab open to just listen to the music but for some reason it abruptly stopped, which then alerted me to the astronomical fan sound that was coming from my computer. Finally, I got stuck. I hate to say it, but it honestly just feels depressing to move around this world. This was honestly pretty cool, and I can only imagine that using a VR headset to look around one of these would have probably been a fairly immersive experience. D . I walked (or flew?) From the homepage of the website that directed you to the different rooms of VR Grad Alley, the Food Tent always displayed the least amount of people within. I went back to check, and sure enough, this was the official NYU Instagram page. I later found out that no one else I spoke to found this particularly difficult. Empire State Building Bathed in NYU Colors in Tribute to Grads. On the cruise ship was just another Pictionary screen, I wandered all around it but that seemed to be it. Spawning at the bookshelf maze’s entrance, I walked directly forward and phased out the other side. The hollow inspirational messages that guide you up the Empire State Building feel cookie-cutter in their sentiments and the slogans on the prop signs in the Selfie Room are bland and uninspired. I don’t know how to adequately describe the time I spent in the Food Tent. After a couple more seconds, it asked me to draw the word “Violet” — I left immediately. NYU . 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