IL DIVINO: Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling in VR
Designer
Mapped out overall game / UX flow
Lead user research and testing
Helped implement UI in UE4
Graphic designed all the marking assets
Producer
Kept the team aligned via agile methodologies like daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprint reviews, etc.
Coordinated deliverables with multiple departments internally and with external partners
Tracked project development in JIRA
Event planner for the project’s showcase at Siggraph show floor
Project Summary
SistineVR is a narrated VR tour of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel developed for SIGGRAPH 2019. and debuted on July 28th. Using photogrammetry software in conjunction with photo scans of the chapel from books and public domain images we are were to generate 3D meshes and textures of the ceiling and it’s rough dimensions. The project is a follow up to Chris Evan’s David in VR project from Siggraph 2017.Check out http://www.sistinevr.com/for more information. The experience was open for 5 days to conference attendees, and buzz got around quickly on the show floor resulting in an almost constant 40-minute line throughout the day, every day, despite having 4 setups. "People are raving about it, it's 'the thing' to see at the show" Mikki Rose (2019 Conference Chair).
SistineVR Steam Release Update
On Nov 18th after many optimizations and a few cuts here and there we released Sistine VR on Steam free to download for all to experience! Even if you don’t have a VR headset it is worth checking out because we added a desktop mode (which we originally made for quick debugging). Here are some quotes that really made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and reminded me why I got into making digital experiences in the first place.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1165850/IL_DIVINO_Michelangelos_Sistine_Ceiling_in_VR/
“Ever been to the Sistine Chapel? No? Well, I have, and let me tell you that this was a thousand times better. No crowds breathing down your neck, no Italian security officers watching you suspiciously and no rude tourists who don't give a F about the prohibition on photography. I finally got to have the Sistine chapel all to myself, and to enjoy every artistic inch of it and gasp at its beauty.
This absolutely FANTASTIC experience would grant you a unique chance to see firsthand the beauty of the Sistine Chapel in high definition, and to see the artwork from angles you would not be able to reach even if you had the real life chapel all to yourself. Beautiful artwork created faithfully in virtual reality and accompanied by helpful audio guidance. This is a fantastic experience and it was a privilege for me to experience it in VR. This masterpiece is exactly what VR is made for. A BIG thank you to the developers who released this absolute masterpiece.
Well, have you experienced it? Then what are you waiting for? Leave a good review ffs; the devs deserve it!”
-GlitchNMatrix88
“AMAZING! The experience is of the same quality as the teaser video. The detail is crazy. The colors look vibrant and the narrator does a great job at bringing the paintings to life. It runs like a dream with SS cranked up way high. I enjoyed this more than visiting it in real life.”
-Ryuzen
“Wonderful job! This helps me scratch something off my bucket list, without having to deal with the insanity of the crowds or Vatican guards.
If Steam had an award for 'Newer Labor of Love' I would have nominated this. The enthusiasm of the narrator for the subject makes this one of the better non-game VR experiences I've had. The job the developers did recreating the chapel from available photos is astounding and made me see details in the paintings I'd never seen before. Big thumbs up.
To be fair, if I had *any* real negative comments to make, it would just be that movement is a bit awkward on the Oculus Rift-S...there is no turn in place button, and changing your facing is accomplished by pressing the teleport button (B on the right controller) while simultaneously trying to turn the stick on the same controller. While you can just get your backside out of your desk chair and turn around yourself, I can see how this shortcoming would make the experience a bit more difficult for disabled users.
The best part is being able to go up on a recreation of the original scaffolding Michelangelo used and get super close to the 'God creates man' portion of the ceiling. This, plus the narration, gives an excellent description of what the he went through...I've seen the 1966 film 'The Agony and the Ecstacy', but with VR actually BEING up there really brings to life what an incredible feat it was.. I can't imagine how Michelangelo did this for so long and stayed (somewhat) sane.
I also like being able to go up in the Vatican lift to get a closer view and learn about the controversial restoration work (and you truly don't realize the issue until you get a closer view!) I wish the lift could be moved about...but I can understand why not (the developers were limited to existing photos only as the Vatican allows no photography now).
In all, this is one of the VR programs that I'm going to use to show off the technology to friends and family. Fully justified the price of a headset, and I would happily pay for anything the developers do in the future...even though these crazy people released this amazing program for FREE. Great work, highly recommended.”
-BadMongoose
Our Siggraph 2019 Booth
We were located near the back of the experience hall on the Siggraph show floor in an area with demos from other heavy hitters such as Disney/Pixar, Magic Leap, Facebook, etc.. Link to overhead LED display video loop
Despite having four stations set up for the experience, it was the only exhibit at the show with a permanent, 45+ minute line every day. We estimate about 94 people total went through the experience with about an average of about 22 people per day. Every day we had to cut off our line well before closing– one day even an hour before to ensure those who are waiting during the last few minutes of the day get to see the experience. Many people who did the experience said it was the best thing they saw at the conference.
SistineVR was the only demo at Siggraph 2019 running on Valve’s newest VR headset the Index. The demo was running at 1440x1600 (per eye) at a stable 120 Hz.
Social Media Posts
Articles
VentureBeat: “Biggest wow moment: Il Divino – Sistine VR”
“There’s no shortage of sophisticated mixed reality hardware at Siggraph, but I was most impressed by a piece of software that really demonstrated VR’s educational and experiential potential. Il Divino: Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling in VR, an app that recreates the world-famous Sistine Chapel within the Unreal Engine, then lets you experience all of its artwork in ways that are impossible for tourists at the real site.”
VRScout & PXVR: Photogrammetry Capture Brings Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling To Life In VR
“Il Divino: Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling in VR offers attendees the chance to step into a near life-like VR rendition of the Sistine Chapel, complete with 100 clickable locations and an hour-long guided audio tour. Pieced together in Unreal Engine using 90 4K maps composed of 15-years worth of high-resolution scans and photographs, each piece of art included in the experience features an incredible amount of detail.”
EETimes: SIGGRAPH Virtual Tour Boards Now
“Another outstanding VR experience was a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel. A big fan of Michelangelo’s work, Chris Evans, Siggraph 2019 Games Co-Chair, wrote a Python script to feed tourist photos into RealityCapture, a new photogrammetry program. He could virtually paint the walls and ceilings and model vault proportions to within about 10 centimeters of the real thing using the Unreal game engine. Using the Valve Index VR headset, a viewer can explore the chapel up close without annoying guards yelling at them “no pictures.””