Phygitalism CEO, recent MAI alumnus Oleg Yusupov, and MAI IT Center Lecturer Vadim Kondrattsev told RBC media how to hold a VR lecture inside the sci-fi computer shooter Half Life: Alyx.

The release of Half Life: Alyx was on March 23, 2020. The new version of the game is developed only for helmets of virtual reality. The event was supposed to be significant for gamers and the game industry, but suddenly it became significant for everyone.

It all started with Charles Cumber, an American school math teacher. He launched the game on release day, but instead of freeing the Earth from the occupation of an alien civilization, he held a VR geometry lesson.

A week later, a trend was picked up by a teacher at Moscow Aviation Institute and part-time research engineer at the Phygitalism technology company Vadim Kondrattsev. He gave a 20-minute lecture on the basics of discrete dynamic sequences to the masters's degree students of the MAI IT Center.

Lecture in Half Life in Russian: How Was It Done?

Phygitalism employees are involved in project development linking XR (virtual, augmented and mixed reality), machine learning and interactive technologies for business. And the company is an official partner of the Moscow Aviation Institute in the educational master's program of the IT Center “Virtual / Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence”.

Phygitalism CEO and recent MAI graduate Oleg Yusupov says: "I wanted to understand how a teacher can feel inside such a game. How can such a teaching format (when virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) reality technologies are integrated into the learning process) be generally useful in the future for the development of immersive education?"

The plan was implemented quickly. Vadim Kondrattsev prepared a lecture plan, and then it was easy. The company spent an entire hour recording a 20-minute lecture. To repeat this simple experience can anyone who has a configured PC with full support for VR Ready, a VR helmet, and, of course, the game Half Life: Alyx itself.