Interview with HoneyWeeWee: Part 1
Part of the "VR is Alive!" Artist Spotlight Series
For this interview we are fortunate to have HoneyWeeWee (he/him) joining us to chat about his creations in social VR!
HoneyWeeWee specializes in creating worlds in VRChat with particle effects that are arranged to music. I,
, am with him in his latest world, Odesza - A Moment Apart, to chat about it and discuss social VR from his perspective.ArmaniXR: First I want to let you introduce yourself. What's your earliest memory of social VR and can you tell me about your introduction to VR in general?
HoneyWeeWee: It's just something I'm interested in. I got into VR when the pandemic started in the summer of 2020 and I started with PCVR on the Quest 1. But I played VRChat in desktop mode first for 20 hours before I got bored and bought VR.
When did you start making worlds with particles and what inspired you to start on this journey making them for people to enjoy?
I mean, I started just to try and show off to people that I can make particle worlds. I never really tried to, like, really be one of the best particle world makers. It's just something to show off in a group I usually hang out with. Let's just say that I can do particle worlds too, the intention was never to be one of the best.
For people who haven't been into making worlds with particles, it can be kind of mysterious. I think of it like a particle-ology, like a field of study. Can you introduce the common types of particles and how they appear?
The common type of particles in a lot of different worlds is fog. Fog is a pretty easy ambient particle to make and a lot of people don't notice those. They're in a lot of different worlds, even the popular public worlds. Particles are not just dots, they can be different things. They can be fog, rain, even lightning. They commonly exist as ambient effects.
I noticed that a lot of particle effects happen at very specific times. Can you speak more about arranging particles to music and that process?
I usually just play by ear. I don't use AudioLink and just practice what effect would look cool. A lot of particle people will usually do it that way. They play by ear and don't use AudioLink. What sticks out with mine is the fact that I try to make mine emotionally attached. I think a lot of other particle arrangements...they don't have that emotional feeling.
How do you know when you have the right particle in the right place? How do you determine when a particle feels right for the moment?
I don't know. I can't really explain it. It feels like, I guess, artistic. It's more of an artistic feel. You just have to feel it out for yourself. It's hard to explain.
When people come up to me and tell me they teared up a little bit, I think that's more of a compliment because it shows me that the world...the animation has a bit of emotion in it.
How would you say you reach a point where you're satisfied with what you've created and you don't feel as if you need to add any more changes or do any more edits?
It's kind of hard because even now, even right now in this world, I still feel like I can do even better. Every time I make something, every time I feel it's possible, I feel like I can polish it again and make it even better. So it's like a recycling process. You just start over again, basically, and it always gets better if I keep re-polishing it.
Just to follow up on that, I noticed in the beginning scene of this world, you give credit to a group that you worked with in making this world. Can you speak more about collaborating with them and that process?
I had the idea, but I never told them my actual ideas. I just told them what I wanted them to do. I feel like if I told them everything, it might be confusing. But I told them what I wanted and I just handled it from there. I asked them if they can make what I wanted, to make the process less confusing.
What part of the creative process do you like the most when you're making these worlds?Â
I think the final product, you can see everyone's reaction. When people come up to me and tell me they teared up a little bit, I think that's more of a compliment because it shows me that the world...the animation has a bit of emotion in it. That's what I've been striving for the whole year. And it's really difficult to match or get something to make a world have an emotional feeling.
Are there any software tools in particular that made things sort of easier with this process? And do you have any advice for new world builders who want to get started?
Just be consistent and learn. I usually don't learn logically, I don't read anything. I just brute force it and see what happens, and if it's something bad, then I usually try to fix it. Just be consistent and you'll just continually get better. Don't compare yourself to another world builder. Only compare yourself with your new creation and you'll gradually see an improvement. It's pretty much the same way I did it.
Are there any parts of the creation process that you think could be better or easier?
I feel like I could make something like a black hole effect, for example, better if I were in Unreal Engine. I feel like with the current Unity 2019 version in VRChat, I'm limited to what I can do. If I have something like Unreal or the newest version of Unity, I have a lot more power of creating something crazier. I feel like I'm limited with the old version. It'll be exciting once the newer versions are rolled out and working in VRChat.
Read part 2 of our interview with HoneyWeeWee here.