Today the Virtual Reality Foundation has announced the The Proto Awards, a virtual reality award show that will be hosted at the Blossom Ballroom, the site of the first Academy Award ceremony in 1929.
The Proto Awards are being held by the Virtual Reality Foundation, a non-profit organization formed by the founding members of VRLA. The organization says it seeks to “bring attention to the exciting work being done in the rapidly accelerating world of VR.”
The Protos will be held in reality (a clarification I never thought someone would need to make) in the Blossom Ballroom in the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the site of the first Academy Awards in 1929. The Virtual Reality Awards—another award ceremony focused on the VR industry—on the other hand, will be hosted virtually through Riftmax in November.
The Virtual Reality Foundation says that the Protos are made possible by a founding sponsorship from Nvidia. VRLA, SVVR, and SFVR are also sponsoring the event.
The award show will be held on September 19th to coincide with the Oculus Connect conference, with the venues being right across the street from one another.
“The Protos take their name from the Greek word for pioneer, protopóros, and aim to celebrate the pioneering spirit of the virtual reality community,” says the Virtual Reality Foundation. “The Protos will host 400 of virtual reality’s biggest thinkers, developers, and dreamers to celebrate the new medium.”
The organization has also announced the award categories:
- Best GUI
- Best Art Direction
- Best Live Action Experience
- Best Interaction Design
- Best Gameplay
- Best Social Experience
- Best Sound Design
- Best Score
- Most Transportive Experience
- Most Innovative Experience
- Best Overall Experience
Nominees will be selected by the Virtual Reality Foundation’s Board of Governors, which includes key members of the VR community, including the founders of the San Francisco VR (SFVR) and Silicon Valley VR (SVVR) meet ups, and other industry luminaries.
The organization encourages those creating VR content to submit their work for consideration through the Proto Awards website.
Full Disclosure: Ben Lang is on the Virtual Reality Foundation’s Board of Governors who are responsible for selecting nominees.