BRCvr is first and foremost a global creative community. Our mission statement is “We foster a diverse creative Burning Man-inspired community who build immersive and inclusive social experiences that encourage collaboration, elevate artists and delight participants.”  Therefore, the experience is defined by whatever the community members create.

Literally, it is hundreds of virtual worlds, art and events created by the community for the community.  For the Virtual Burn 2020, there were over 200 unique worlds and art projects and over 1500 hours of live events during that one week. Like being on-playa, it was  impossible to experience everything during one week, so we created year-round community gatherings. Since August 2020, our community membership has grown and remains active on a daily basis.

No. We are 24/7/365. Our community and team of volunteers is constantly dreaming, creating and elevating. Your access is on-demand.

Nobody can tell you what kind of experience you will have. But the BRCvr community practices The 10 Principles. One thing we can assure you, you’ll certainly feel that emotional connection to other like-minded people. And we do have digital dust storms!

No. We embrace all diversity and actively support inclusivity. You don’t have to be a Burner to support those ideas. If this sounds like you, join the community today.

We will always burn The Man. During the Virtual Burn Week 2021, we are an official virtual Burning Man experience.  We’re one of 6 places you can experience the ritual of the Man burn. For 2021, the Man will burn September 4th.

We leave it up to the World Builder who creates the Temple to decide whether there will be a burn or not.

Really?  Okay.  BRCvr community members participate via the AltspaceVR platform. This is for ages 13 and up. Though there is no official Orgy Dome, responsible community members can create adult-only events.  Learn more about events.

Yes. For the Virtual Burn they are called VEST.  During the pandemic, the Black Rock Rangers formed a core team that supported all of the virtual experiences. We are thrilled they are back for a second year. Make sure you show the same kind of love in VR as you would on playa.

Yes. Since we are first and foremost a community, we are going to take up some space here to help you further with this question.

First, make sure you are connected with your friends on the platform. You can do so in a couple ways. The easiest is when you are with someone you want to be connected with, click on the box above their avatar head with their name and ask them to be a friend. When they accept, you are connected.

Second, you can go to Menu > People> Requests and type in their username in the search bar and send a friend request that way.

To find your friends who have accepted your request, look at the list of online friends on the right of your menu.  Click the “GO TO” arrow next to their name to go to them. Or click on “MESSAGE” and use the “Come Visit” feature to send them the link to where you are.

PRO TIP:  Before you send the “Come Visit” link, send a short message first that says where you are and why they need to visit you.

No. Well, maybe. Technically, much of the mind-blowing experiences are built using Unity, which is the programming engine behind some of the best games in the world.  But BRCvr is about social connection. That means the World Builders tend to think more about how people can connect, rather than compete.

Download the free AltspaceVR app either for your PC, Mac, or in the Oculus app store. Get details on how to download AltspaceVR.

Yes. This free account will ensure you are getting the full suite of features on the AltspaceVR platform (which hosts BRCvr). This includes holoportation, creating anything with MESH, etc. In addition, your MS account is needed for our ticketing system. Click on the link to set up your free Microsoft Account.

Yes.  During the Virtual Burn 2020, we were proud to have pushed the AltspaceVR platform to launch their MAC client live.  Click on the link for the MAC instructions.

At present, you can enjoy all the BRCvr community has to offer on an Oculus Quest 1 or 2 or Rift, and the HTC Vive.

Not yet. But we have heard that is in the works.

Yes. BRCvr is a global community and therefore live captions available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Portegues, and Cantonese.  Please note that not all Worlds have live captions.

Yes.

When you are in the AltspaceVR app, from the main screen you will see on your right a full view of your current avatar and a button “Customize Avatar.”  Or click on Menu > Me > Customize my Avatar. We encourage and embrace radical self-expression!

Pro-tip: Learn how to customize your avatar using the color wheel, as well.  Community members have been known to invite groups to instantly select a unique color in support of a fun theme or event.  The March of the Purple People was unforgettable!

Yes.  We were honored to be part of the Virtual Burn 2020 and are back again this year with five other wonderful virtual platforms.  We encourage you to explore them all!  Learn about them all here: https://kindling.burningman.org/virtualburn/

Just like the real on-playa burn, first there is build week. Our Virtual Build Week begins August 22 – August 28, 2021. The gates are scheduled to open for the Virtual Burn 2021 from August 29 – September 7, 2021.

BRCvr is a year-round, global community offering connections 24/7/365.  Since August 2020, the community has provided unique programming every month including our popular Friday Night Party every other Friday night, AuntAthena’s 10 Principles Conversation the first Saturday of every month, quarterly weekend long mini-burns, Artist panels, guided World Tours, and more.  After the Virtual Burn 2021, this will keep going so long as the community continues to dream, create and elevate.

Burning Man is the largest Leave No Trace event in the world. The BRCvr community has their own version of this. Since each World or Art project is owned by a specific contributor to the community, they have the right to do whatever they want with their contribution at any time. Some choose to keep their project live forever (be sure to favorite it!).  Others make it disappear in the digital dust. The Main Playa and Black Rock City digital twin will go away after the Virtual Burn Week 2021.

This is the most Burner question anyone can ask. Here is the most Burner answer: Get on the platform, meet other BRCvr members, tell them what you want to do, let the digital playa magic commence. Radical Self-reliance!

PRO TIP: For immediate gratification and connection, sign up on this website for our newsletter and join our Discord channel where we are quite active.

Yes and No. For the second year in a row, the leadership team behind BRCvr has chosen to be Radically Inclusive and they are Gifting their 2021 Virtual Burn experience to the world. But they are incurring costs to make this possible. Your help is needed. Please consider supporting the team, world builders and all BRCvr events with a suggested contribution of $20, or any amount large or small. A portion of your contribution will go to support Burning Man Project. You can do this easily on the RSVP page.

BRCvr is a volunteer-based community.  However, if you’ve ever attended a regional burn or the on-playal burn, you know there are costs associated with building the infrastructure.  BRCvr is the same.  Your gift helps to cover the server and streaming costs, programming, development, and incorporation of community art work.  A portion of every gift goes to support the non-profit Burning Man Project and the future of the event in Black Rock City.  during this fiscally challenging year.

Yes. Burning Man Project has asked all of the six official Burning Man experiences to experiment with paid media. Since the virtual experiences are so new, they want to send a message of inclusivity as far as possible.

No. Aside from the fact there is no cost to participate, Decommodification is about avoiding the placement of false value on something. We do not accept any corporate sponsorships. We refuse any kind of propaganda within the virtual fence of our playa. Click on the link to learn more about the 10 Principles.

No. You must be 13 years or older, which is the age requirement on the AltspaceVR platform.

Many. The best way to start is by visiting the BRCvr Participation page.

We hope that is not why you would want to volunteer with the BRCvr community. But since you asked, Volunteers are offered free access to BRCvr during the Virtual Burn week, just like everyone. We do not offer any complimentary tickets or discounts to the other five platforms.

You will need to attend volunteer orientation meetings, as well as commit to supporting at least 2 events of 3 hours each during the Virtual Burn 2021.

This is our community outreach volunteer team.  Via social media, we identify regular users who engage with us and are active on social media.  We will DM you on Instagram or Facebook.  We will invite you to a meeting to learn more.

We look to our Ambassadors to reach out to their communities to build awareness of BRCvr and encourage participation.

We are happy to work with Ambassadors on their preferred social channel.  However, we are primarily focused on Instagram and Facebook.

You can DM us on Instagram.

A World is a virtual experience designed by an artist. There can be several pieces of art in a World or just one. There can be a Plaza/Keyhole with a sound camp, art cars, and art pieces in it that is still in one World.

A Mutant Vehicle can be in a World driving around the playa. Or it can be parked by other art, or theme camp, or sound camp. You may see a Mutant Vehicle in many places. Just like at the physical event.

MRE stands for Mixed Reality Extension. It’s a bit of code that allows an avatar to interact with an object. We also call them interactables. Like putting on wings, unicorn horns, getting a drink, playing a ring toss game, fire toys, and hula hoops.

Great question.  Visit the BRCvr 2021 Deadlines and Tech Specs Checklist for details. 

Art is an element in a World. A World is a virtual experience. You can have a World with just one art piece, or a World with lots of art in it.

Yes.

Yes. But! You have to be the exclusive owner of all the content in the video; images, music, etc. If you are, reach out to us so we can collaborate on the perfect way to showcase your video.

Regardless of whether your video content is pre-recorded or live, dLive.tv is used with the AltspaceVR MMC (their media console).  All other streaming platforms use their Web Projector. As of June 2021, MAC users cannot hear audio via the Web Projector.

Yes. We have a virtual version of Center Camp that has its famous gallery, which would be a great place to start exploring the showcasing of your art. Depending on how much 2D art is submitted for inclusion, we may set up another gallery. Also, you are welcome to create a gallery of your art to showcase all that you do.

Yes!  And if you don’t have the technical skills to create a World featuring your art, we have a fantastic list of World Builders we can introduce you to.

AltspaceVR upgraded their platform to ensure friends could gather together at the same event.  They increased World/Event capacity and they created a feature where you can find which “instance” of an event your friends are in. At a cool event, be sure to try the “Come Visit” option in your Messages to have your friends join you.

All events are moderated by a trained BRCvr team member. We have strict guidelines that do not permit troll-like behavior.  We are a community that embraces diversity and inclusivity.  However, radical inclusivity does not mean all behavior is tolerated.  We recommend trying to speak to them first. Sometimes people troll because they are looking for attention. If speaking to them does not modify the disruptive behavior, there are tools for moderation of your Event. If there is someone you need to remove from your Event you can do so from your Host Panel or by clicking the shoe in the window over their avatar head.

MRE stands for Mixed Reality Extension. It’s a bit of code that allows an avatar to interact with an object. We also call them interactables. Like putting on wings, unicorn horns, getting a drink, playing a ring toss game, fire toys, and hula hoops.

Yes. Yes. Please, yes!  Participants will love surprises. Think of this as the perfect manifestation of the principle of Immediacy.

Yes. This is highly encouraged. Both BRCvr and AltspaceVR are supportive, safe communities for your events.

Yes. Any event or world that is sexually explicit in nature must be a private event created using the “groups” feature. Hosts can share their event and collect RSVPs via Eventbrite (or email) and use those emails to create an 18+ VIP list. Those users will have unique access to your world.  If you want to showcase a sexually explicit World on the Main Playa, the hosts would need to add a notification instead of a teleporter that tells users that this World is private access only and then point them where to sign up.

info@brcvr.org