The show must go on
By combining video games with live concerts, the digital generation is trying to create a brand-new entertainment experience for those at home. And the business has just started in Hong Kong. He Shusi reports.
Live music is almost non-existent in Hong Kong these days as COVID-19 continues to unleash its fury. But how about cosplaying yourself in a virtual stadium and interacting with others in a video game? The answer lies in a new form of business - in-game concerts.
A virtual Hong Kong Coliseum - the city's showcase pop concert stadium - was built with every detail of a live concert packed in, from on-site ticket checking, body temperature measuring to seat searching, utilizing Microsoft's flagship open-world game, Minecraft.
It's no work of fiction. In August last year, popular four-member boy group, C AllStar, held Asia's first in-game concert at the virtual Hong Kong Coliseum, incarnating Minecraft game characters.
Minecraft is one of the most popular open-world games in existence. By creating a virtual world and exploring it, players can simulate the real world.
To give the home-based audience a sense of participation, the organizer spent three months re-creating the classic "four-sided stage" on Minecraft. The audience could get a close-up view of the scenes, such as the stage lifting and the elaborate stage effect. If any member of the audience were to exude a fierce response, he or she would be driven out of the coliseum by "security".
To further enhance the ambience at the concert, the virtual event deployed the digital collaboration tool and cloud technology to place all fans on a video call in a shared virtual background, creating a chorus effect between the audience and C AllStar.
Implanting e-commerce as well, the organizer prepared booths for sponsors to sell goods outside the "coliseum", including physical goods and virtual goods to be used at the concert, such as glow sticks and virtual fireworks.
