Interview with Mogoon the Fish
Part of the "VR is Alive!" Artist Spotlight Series
For this interview we are fortunate to have Mogoon the Fish (he/him) joining us to chat about his creations in social VR! Mogoon the Fish joins us from South Korea, where he specializes in building with an architectural focus.
First, I just want to let you introduce yourself, including your pronouns, and what you want the audience to know about you.
Hello! I’m ‘Mogoon the Fish.’ My pronouns are he/him. I’m a virtual world creator. I run Virtual Whale Studio in VRChat.
Can you explain your name and your avatar, where they both come from?
My name "Mogoon" was created using an anagram of "go moon." When I experienced the Metaverse, I felt like I was flying into another universe. I thought about what I was most familiar with and used the moon, which I often stare at, as inspiration. I didn't know English very well at the time, so I spelled it go moon instead of go to the moon. My avatar is Lopoli Kon from Booth. I've been using it since 2020.
Can you tell me about your introduction to and earliest memory of social VR?
I started playing VRChat in 2018 and even though I didn't own a VR device at the time, it was a new experience to meet people from different races and countries. Talking face-to-face in the same space made it easier to connect with people from different countries than talking through social networking services. My favorite memory is seeing the work of many wonderful friends.
When and where did you start making worlds, and what inspired you to start on this journey of making them for people to enjoy?
When I thought about creating a world, I thought, "Why can't I create a place where people can interact with each other?" At the time, I was studying architectural engineering at university, and I've always loved looking at buildings since I was a kid, so I referenced a lot of architectural magazines online. These were my biggest inspirations for creating my worlds.
I think the biggest appeal of social VR is that it can bring people together in different spaces, like a platform where you can see footage from the past in the present. Isn't it fascinating to be able to talk to someone on the other side of the world in the same room over the internet?!
How does what you do in real life influence your world building process?
Memories, experiences, and so much more influence my world building process, but I'm mostly referring to my dreams. I keep a notebook by my bed to remember the images I've seen in my dreams, and I've often taken them and turned them into worlds.
From your perspective, how have you seen Korean culture enter virtual worlds and social VR?
In August 2022, I created a part of a traditional Korean palace called Huijeongdang (pronounced Hee-jeong-dang). The event there was a recreation of a meeting between the king and his subjects, and I realized that traditional Korean culture could be part of social VR.
How can Westerners be more inclusive and respectful of Korean culture in social VR interactions?
Right now, Korean culture is becoming more widely known. It's all about music, films, and dramas, but it's consumed. So I think the best way to be more inclusive is to learn their language (Korean) and communicate with them.
What are some examples of Korean culture that you haven’t seen in social VR that you think should be brought into social VR?
There's already a lot of Korean culture in social VR (music, dance, etc.), so there's nothing I haven't seen, but I'd like to see more Korean film culture, because there's a lot of good stuff out there and I'd like it to be more widely known.
Can you tell me more about the Virtual Whale group that you lead?
Virtual Whale is a group that aims to provide a new experience and a comfortable space in VR and is doing various activities to help promote Korean VR culture.
What do you enjoy the most about social VR, and what could be better about it?
There's something I say to my friends all the time. I think the biggest appeal of social VR is that it can bring people together in different spaces, like a platform where you can see footage from the past in the present. Isn't it fascinating to be able to talk to someone on the other side of the world in the same room over the internet?!
What part of the creative process do you like the most? Specifically, what type of development (modeling, animation, etc.) is your favorite aspect of dealing with the software?
My favorite part is the design part. I like it best when I'm drawing out the flow and imagining and guessing that people will come into my world and behave in this way. It creates a lot of different perspectives, thinking that some people will look this way and some people will look that way. When dealing with software specifically, I would say modeling.
What general advice do you have for newer social VR world builders?
There are a lot of resources on the internet, and the ability to pull them together and put them in place is probably the most important thing for a social VR world builder. Don't try to do it all yourself. This is a hard lesson for me, and it's taken me a lot of time to learn.
Are there any software tools in particular that you like which have made life easier for you, that you’d like to share with the audience?
There is a program called Substance 3D Sampler by Adobe. I recommend this as it is very useful for creating world materials. Using materials that feel the way you want them to feel is a sensitive and tricky issue for world creators, and this is a great program that solves that problem.
Are there any parts of the virtual creation process that you think could be better?
I don't mind working alone, but there are times when I have meetings with clients or team members. I think it's very helpful for virtual creation to be able to see them in VR during the design process, and I've done that once and it was very helpful.
How do you follow through on ideas that you have before you start building? Do you have a list you keep with worlds to work on?
My worlds are divided into two categories: improvised worlds and planned worlds. Improvised worlds tend to incorporate emotions and memories of the moment. This might include making a world out of a music video I loved or a scene from a dream. Planned worlds are made by making a list of buildings that I've seen that I'm impressed with, then putting them together and recreating them in my own style.
How do you determine or reach a point where you are satisfied with what you have created?
In progress, there is a Baking course. That's where I tend to stop if I'm getting the light composition I want. The part I'm usually satisfied with is the atmosphere. It's abstract, but I don't stop until I get there.
Lastly, do you have any new worlds that you're building right now that you can tell us about? When will it be ready? And how can we stay updated on that?
We have two worlds that will be finished on October 21st. They are the "Korean World Creator Hub "4th World" and the "Vault" (VRChat Architecture Community).
The latest information is posted on my social media, X and Instagram.
awesome article!!! i gotta check out Virtual Whale :D