2024 RAINDANCE IMMERSIVE awards

Each year the Raindance Immersive Awards shine a spotlight on the incredible work of independent XR creators, game developers, world builders, performers and filmmakers. From the intricacies of world-building to the nuances of character development and storytelling, the awards honour the myriad ways in which artists harness XR technologies to express their creativity and vision.

The 2024 line-up of 36 experiences was a mix of World Premieres, special first-look previews and live shows spanning immersive narratives, spatial games, live performances, short films and music videos, as well as exclusive guided tours by world builders. 32 experiences competed across eight award categories.

Marking a groundbreaking step forward in 2024, Raindance celebrated spatial games built specifically for Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3, showcasing the potential for blending digital content with the physical world to create eye-popping gameplay experiences.

Since 2020, Raindance has been championing world builders across social VR platforms. 2024 saw a new “art world” spin to the world building category, recognising a deeper exploration of the creative and conceptual aspects of immersive environments. Additionally, Raindance's recognition of the emerging film community within VRChat has been a testament to the platform's growing cultural significance, highlighting the creative potential and diversity of artistic expression and community building in social VR. This cultural wave has been so profound that the festival introduced two new award categories in 2024: Best Dance Experience and Best Live Show.

BEST NARRATIVE

• Fly To You

• Girl, Lamp, Radio

• WINNER 🏆 Heartbeat

• The Elephant I Found Under My Skin

BEST GAME

• Laser Dance

• Runaways

• WINNER 🏆 Thrasher

• Wisp World

BEST ART WORLD

• Liminal

• Strangeways

• WINNER 🏆 Suku

• Tales of a Mystic Cat

BEST LIVE SHOW

• WINNER 🏆 Connected Waves: VR Jazz Session

• Elemente:V

• Inspiration: Fusion of Light and Sound

• Scream Garden

BEST DANCE EXPERIENCE

• Shadow Canyon: A Puppeteer's Tale

• Shiro: Four Seasons

• Taiko Takibi Dance Night: Flames of the Soul

• WINNER 🏆 The Friction of a Modulated Soul

BEST MUSIC EXPERIENCE

• CANDYTRIP: Other Side

• WINNER 🏆 Children of the Seed

• Kaleidosky: Down The Rabbit Hole

• Night Under Light Presents: The Seasons @ Moon Pool

BEST SHORT FILM OF VR

• A Conversation Between Two People That Don't Matter

• Monotone

• New Eden Evergarden: Behind the Magic

• WINNER 🏆 Where Withered Flowers Grow

BEST MUSIC VIDEO OF VR

• Carpe Diem

• WINNER 🏆 I Still Love You

• Like Crazy

• National Anthem

RAINDANCE DISCOVERY AWARD

Rooted in the festival's ethos "Discover. Be Discovered.", the award recognises an exceptional debut by en emerging XR creator or filmmaker.

• WINNER 🏆 New Eden Evergarden: Behind the Magic

SPIRIT OF RAINDANCE AWARD

The award recognises outstanding achievement for an independent XR production.

• WINNER 🏆 Laser Dance

• WINNER 🏆 Shadow Canyon: A Puppeteer's Tale

The winners were announced at two virtual awards ceremonies in VRChat on 29th and 30th June in the presence of nominees and jurors from all around the world, offering a unique opportunity for participants to celebrate and foster connections across geographical boundaries.

Thank you to all the artists and nominees, our Raindance Immersive curation and production team - MariRaku, Little Poe, TropiGinger, Training Fangs, Jo Leigh and Jenny, as well as our virtual world builders in VRChat, Histarium and Lucy Luu.