An open-source immersive ride framework.
One content file. Two render paths.
The ride is a tunnel. Fixed path, no user navigation. The audience surrenders to the flow. Content plays on tunnel surfaces — walls, ceiling, water. The boat is the playhead.
Anti-Algorithm: the river decides the pace. No engagement optimization. No algorithmic feed. The experience is curated by humans, delivered on a fixed timeline.
Content modules — shields — are swappable, community-contributed, GPL v3. The framework is open. The operational weights are the moat: they emerge from running the system, not from reading the code.
| Component | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| The system | Longship | Older than copyright, open by nature |
| Content atoms | Shields | Modular, protective, swappable |
| Ride format | ORF | The river everything flows through |
| Content commons | The Water | Nobody owns it, everybody rides on it |
| Brand layer | Dragon Prow | Carved identity on an open hull |
| Build pipeline | Ljósmóðir | Midwife — delivers the ride |
| Sync points | Torches | Beat markers, transition triggers |
Both targets consume a shared Open Ride Format file. The ORF is the interop contract — both renderers produce equivalent experiential output from the same input.
Shields are the atomic content units. Each maps to a surface region on the tunnel wall for a time span. They stack, blend, and transition. Contributors publish shields to The Water — the content commons.
The ORF file is the contract. Both targets interpret every field into their native medium.
| ORF Field | VR Headset | Physical Ride |
|---|---|---|
| tunnel.path | Camera spline rail | Track centerline |
| shields | Dynamic materials on mesh | Media server to projectors |
| audio.spatial | MetaSounds spatialization | Speaker zone panning |
| motion.velocity | Spline traversal speed | Track drive speed |
| motion.roll | Camera roll | Boat tilt actuator |
| motion.heave | Camera vertical offset | Boat heave actuator |
| motion.vibration | Camera shake | Vibration motor |
| torches | Gameplay events | Hardware triggers |
Three layers of constraints, each more restrictive. The ride control system enforces the minimum of all three.
ORF constraints — content-authored maximums. The creator's intent.
Venue constraints — physical hardware limits. What the actuators can actually do.
Operational weights — learned from running the system with real riders. This is the Year Two moat.
The GPL v3 framework eliminates software licensing costs. The franchise cost is hardware + build-out + branding. The dragon prow is yours to carve.
Why the gap? The code without the operational weights is a liability. A ride system that compiles but hasn't been tuned against real-world failure modes is dangerous for physical deployment and uncomfortable for VR. Year One establishes the architecture. Year Two releases a system that has been run.
Shields are published to IPFS, indexed on Nostr, discovered via vector search. Ljósmóðir compiles selections into complete ORF files. Nobody owns the water. Everybody rides on it.