We’d just gotten our High Desert Eclipse for Oculus Go submission back days before they where sunsetting the platform for good and no longer taking updates. Good news it was accepted for a “unlisted” storefront but only available via appkey which we could provide to users.

In a final attempt to get it published to the storefront before no more updates being accepted we’d streamlined the lobby to not include additional content we were planning on adding later along with an explanation of why we thought it would be important to have it up on the platform for individual and family viewing on the Oculus Go.

We’d given out a few dozen keys in celebration and gotten several 5 star reviews from new users, however since we didn’t have an easy way to distribute keys (and for users to purchase) we decided to hold off on widely publicizing the release since most users had moved on the the Quest platform anyways.

We’re including the submission letter below, it gives an idea of what we’d experienced during public screenings and large public event testing phase and response from those who’d experienced High Desert Eclipse at film festivals and other public events showcasing VR.

*Attn Oculus Go store acceptance reviewer: Thanks for quickly accepting our initial submission of “High Desert Eclipse”, and passing its Oculus Go content review! We’ve re-edited our description text, for a final chance at an Oculus Go store publication and listing. Since this is our last chance, please let us explain why we feel it’s important to have a store listing given our excellent live audience user feedback in pre-pandemic testing, with thousands of in-person views.

In this update we’ve also streamlined the lobby in app (since no further updates will be possible) and we’d like to reduce the base retail price to $2.99. (We’ve been reluctant to publish to other platforms, since it seemed the Oculus Go Store is the ideal platform for individual sale.)

We’ve been showcasing this experience since it was a work-in-progress at public VR and film festival performances. People have thanked us profoundly (even giving us hugs at events) for the opportunity to see an eclipse in this way, since many had to miss seeing an awe-inspiring full and total eclipse with their own eyes. Others who had seen an eclipse in their past were often even more thankful than ones who had never seen one at all, stating that it brought back a flood of memories of the amazing spiritual experience they had in real life. There’s nothing better than venue goers coming out of your experience exclaiming “OMG! You created that?!, WOW!” that was so amazing!” and giving you hugs!

Although companies large and small tried to capture that eclipse in 360, viewers said that ours was the only one that succeeded. Our carefully-chosen vantage point in the unspoiled desert provides a spiritual connection to nature, as well as a scenic overview of the dramatic passing of the shadow of the Moon over the bare landscape. The few people and animals on the hill help alert the viewer to the moment of totality without obscuring the event.

Finally, we deliberately set out to convey what an eclipse feels like when you’re actually there – not just a quick halo shot, not just a moment of shadow – but how it feels to stand on a hill and have the world around you slowly pause while animals, humans and nature itself are surrounded by a surreal experience. This kind of immersion, we knew from the moment we first used the first Oculus prototype, could ONLY be captured in VR. No ordinary photograph or film could do it justice.

To spread the potential of VR technology to thousands, we’ve headlined at tech events and film festivals such as Seattle Maker Faire, and our showing at the Seattle TransMedia Independent film festival had such a profound effect that VIP party attendees submitted “High Desert Eclipse” and “Maiden Flight” to the organizers for the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) - VR Zone, where we were featured as headliners. Invited to submit to the Tacoma Film Festival, both “High Desert Eclipse” and “Maiden Flight” were officially 2 out of the top 10 VR selections. This resulted in an invitation to headline and run the VR experiences at KremFest for two years in a row.

We’ve gotten sincere thanks all along for going out of our way to bring this experience to the public. That was even before the pandemic hit - but now there are really no more opportunities for people to see this sort of thing in a public space for some time to come. I’d be disappointed if this experience weren’t easily available to new users on the Oculus Store! From our experiences in the field and audience feedback we believe with all our hearts that if listed on the store it would be a benefit to Oculus, ourselves, and its viewers.

Best Regards (And thank you for your reconsideration).

L. James and J. Jackson*

We’re back posting the date on this since it’s an anniversary event. It took almost another year during the pandemic to get the the High Desert Eclipse for Quest version finished, submitted, and accepted for Early Access Release via their new applab platform.

It’s been a long road to the eclipse and moving the heavens and earth is no longer just a metaphor for us.