Taiwan is an island surrounded by the ocean, but most people’s understanding of the ocean is limited to playing on the beach or looking at the tides. HTC’s VIVERSE platform, a global innovation leader in smartphones and virtual reality, has joined hands with the Ministry of Culture and international immersive content team Wevr to jointly launch a multi-person shared walking XR experience “The Call of the Sea: A Prayer Journey for Ocean Creatures” (The Blu: Expedition Taiwan), which will completely change your imagination of “looking at the sea” with large-area XR technology.
From “looking at the sea” to “walking into the sea”: XR flipping immersive experience
The “Call of the Sea” released this time uses free-roam large-area XR technology. Audiences are not restricted by cables and standing ranges. They can walk freely in the physical space and explore the underwater world side by side with family and friends. This LBE (Location-Based Entertainment) XR experience combines cultural content, marine education and technological applications to create a new immersive performance type.
Jiang Qingsong, Director of the Department of Cultural and Creative Development of the Ministry of Culture, said: “Cultural technology is becoming an important force in promoting Taiwan’s content innovation and international connections. “Call of the Sea” takes Taiwan’s marine ecology and culture as the core, and uses XR technology and immersive narrative to allow marine conservation, local culture and historical memory to be seen in a more immersive way. It also demonstrates the development potential of Taiwan’s cultural content cross-domain translation and international cooperation.”
Lin Junwu, general manager of VIVERSE, pointed out that HTC VIVERSE continues to promote XR large-scale applications in the hope that through immersive technology, cultural content can not only be watched, but also experienced personally. “Because we believe that a truly warm and immersive experience is not just technology, but a ‘shared experience’.”
Neville Spiteri, co-founder and CEO of Wevr, added that the team has been committed to using XR immersive technology and interactive storytelling to create shared experiences that touch people’s hearts. “We are excited to work with HTC to bring this work that combines immersive storytelling, interactive experience and ocean conservation awareness to Taiwanese audiences.”
Become an ocean explorer and encounter white dolphins in the deep sea
“Call of the Sea” takes Taiwan’s subtropical waters as the core of the story, combines XR immersive technology and interactive narrative, and transforms Taiwan’s maritime memories such as white dolphins, blue tears, coral reefs, fishing culture, deep-sea shipwrecks and harbor history into a deep-sea journey that can be experienced personally. The audience transformed into ocean explorers. Under the leadership of the AI robot “BT-11” and marine biologist Dr. Wang, starting from the Matsu Beihai Tunnel Marine Research Base, they gradually penetrated into the coral reef waters, deep sea trenches, Blue Tears Cave and shipwreck ruins, and finally participated in the deep-sea search and rescue mission for the endangered Taiwan white dolphin.
During the experience, the audience will have a close encounter with giant blue whales, schools of hammerhead sharks, deep-sea stingrays and a large number of luminous marine creatures, and participate in ocean exploration and coral conservation through multi-person simultaneous interaction and task design. The work is designed with multiple interactive links. You can read relevant knowledge by pointing at marine creatures and performing specific gestures. The microscope in the laboratory is full of surprises when you look closer. There are also hidden Easter eggs in the game waiting for players to actually explore. Through the connection between coral reefs, fish schools and cetacean ecology, the interdependence of marine life is presented, allowing the audience to transform from simply watching to actually participating in ocean conservation actions.
Taiwan has one of the world’s rarest subtropical marine ecosystems with extremely high biodiversity density, but it is also an important habitat for the endangered Taiwanese white dolphin. Transforming these real ecological issues into interactive experiences through immersive technology is the core vision of this work.
Event ambassador Xiaoxian’s personal experience: The immersion is close to real diving
This exhibition invites artist Xiaoxian, who loves diving and has served as a marine conservation ambassador, as the event ambassador. She shared that the most surprising thing when she experienced “Call of the Sea” for the first time was that the immersion was very close to real diving. “I have actually been in the sea, so I am very sensitive to the light, sound and quiet feeling underwater. For a few moments this time, I will forget that I am in XR, and even subconsciously want to hold my breath and slow down the movement.”
Talking about the most touching part of the experience, Xiaoxian mentioned the scene of the white dolphin swimming by: “When I saw the white dolphin before, I might have thought it was a conservation issue; but when it really appeared in front of me, I suddenly felt that it was not an issue, but a life.” She said. He also said that in the past, when visiting Kaohsiung, one might go to Pier 2 and Dagang Bridge for a walk to watch the sunset. “Now you can dive directly into the deep sea world at Zhanqiku. You don’t need to wear diving equipment, but you can also feel the tranquility and shock of the deep sea. It will be a memorable one-day or half-day trip to Kaohsiung.”
Kaohsiung Zhanqiku Exhibition Early bird tickets start at NT$550
“Call of the Sea: A Prayer Journey for Ocean Creatures” will be officially exhibited at Kaohsiung VIVELAND VR Virtual Reality Park – Zhanqiku from May 27 to November 27, 2026. Early bird tickets are available at a discounted price of NT$550 (until June 10, 2026), starting from now on ibon ticketing systemIt is officially on sale and is expected to be available on the Klook platform in June.
This work is the first stop in Wevr’s series of global ocean immersive experiences, with future plans to expand such experiences to other important ocean areas around the world. The exhibition combines Kaohsiung’s harbor culture, sightseeing venues and immersive entertainment experiences to further demonstrate Taiwan’s city positioning as a base for the development of cultural technology and XR field applications.
Source: KOCPC Chinese