The (Unofficial) Unreal Engine Podcast

In this session from the FMX 2026 Spatial Storytelling Track, host Alex Coulombe sits down with creative director and creative technologist Kevin Young for an engaging conversation about spatial storytelling, immersive experiences, and the future of interactive media.
Drawing from his work across Framestore, Wētā FX, Nexus Studios, The Mill, HBO, and The Guardian, Kevin shares the design principles that guide his approach to creating compelling XR experiences. He explains how successful immersive projects balance narrative, technology, aesthetics, mechanics, audience presence, and meaning, using real-world examples from award-winning productions.
Alex and Kevin discuss 6x9: A Virtual Experience of Solitary Confinement, designing accessible mobile VR, spatial audio, creator tools, rapid prototyping, ShapesXR, Quill, Unreal Engine workflows, intelligent virtual creatures, HBO's House of the Dragon: DracARys, machine vision, location-based entertainment, immersive cinema, and the creative tradeoffs between accessibility and premium experiences.
Throughout the conversation, Alex's thoughtful questions help translate complex technical concepts into practical insights for developers, designers, filmmakers, technical artists, and immersive storytellers.
Topics Discussed
• Spatial storytelling and immersive design
• Experience design frameworks
• Narrative, technology, and mechanics
• 6x9: A Virtual Experience of Solitary Confinement
• Mobile VR and accessibility
• ShapesXR, Quill, and Unreal Engine
• Intelligent AR creatures and machine vision
• HBO's House of the Dragon: DracARys
• Rapid prototyping and creator workflows
• Location-based entertainment
• Immersive cinema
• The future of spatial computing
Guest
Kevin Young is a creative director and creative technologist specializing in immersive entertainment, XR, interactive storytelling, and spatial computing. His career includes work with Framestore, Wētā FX, Nexus Studios, The Mill, HBO, and The Guardian.
Host
Alex Coulombe is an XR developer, educator, and host of the Unofficial Unreal Engine Podcast, where he interviews industry leaders shaping the future of real-time technology and immersive media.
RSS Keywords
FMX 2026, FMX, Alex Coulombe, Kevin Young, Spatial Storytelling, Immersive Storytelling, XR, VR, AR, Mixed Reality, Spatial Computing, Unreal Engine, Framestore, Wētā FX, The Mill, Nexus Studios, Experience Design, Interactive Storytelling, AI, Machine Vision, House of the Dragon, DracARys, 6x9, Location-Based Entertainment, Immersive Cinema

How do you design a mixed reality attraction that works for families, first-time players, noisy public spaces, and people of all ages without relying on instructions, traditional UI, controllers, or even headset straps?
In this episode, Allan Yde shares a practical breakdown of building large-scale mixed reality experiences for location-based entertainment. He explores the realities of designing for public venues where players need to understand the experience immediately, interactions must feel natural, and every object should respond in a satisfying way.
Topics include hand tracking, no-controller interaction design, diegetic UI, physical wand prototypes, non-linear attraction layouts, spell-based mechanics, simplifying puzzles, testing outside the studio, designing for children and older adults, and using body occlusion to keep shared MR spaces safe.
A grounded look at what it takes to move mixed reality beyond the prototype stage and into real-world attractions people can actually play, understand, and enjoy.

Agnes Bakk joins the FM Spatial Storytelling track to discuss Sanctuary, a VR nature experience designed through co-design and clinical research to support elderly adults and long-term hospitalized patients. The conversation explores theater, magic, immersion, accessibility, healthcare design, and the therapeutic potential of spatial storytelling.

Alex Coulombe interviews Tupac Martir for FMX 2026’s Spatial Storytelling track, discussing VR, mixed reality, virtual production, AI agents, and why immersive technology must serve the story.

Alex Coulombe was invited to host the very first Spatial Storytelling track for FMX in Stuttgart, Germany. There were 4 speakers on-site and four remote. Alex interviewed 3 of them, and FMX has kindly allowed us to re-post those discussions here.
Learn more at https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2026/list?t=1938

Tickets for the FINAL live shows of A Christmas Carol VR this weekend:https://xmascarolvr.com
Unreal Fest and XR Bootcamp Talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1J25jJ79U8&list=PLBHPEwkDnRDemC1EPbDIyKhkXu5gPGWFN&index=1
Unreal NYC Talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skftiacxR2E&list=PLpC5Swh5jFZK-EafIStqWIu5SEOcj5d0i&index=3
Unreal NYC Discord: https://discord.gg/4852FvQtj5
Unreal NYC Community:https://communities.unrealengine.com/new-york/
Unreal Academy: https://academy.unrealengine.com/
Unreal Galaxy XR Template: https://github.com/agilelens/AndroidXRTemplate
Star Wars Halcyon VR Archive: https://github.com/agilelens/halcyonvr
SIGGRAPH Paper "Seeing Yourself on Stage": https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3721244.3742445
New Agile Lens website: https://www.agilelens.com
Worlds in Play: worldsinplay.com
Your Mind Girls Live Mixed Reality Theatre: https://www.hopehutman.com/ymg-2025
Glassbreakers: https://www.glassbreakersgame.com/