Thomas Van Bouwel
@tovanbo.bsky.social
XR Developer of Cubism and Laser Dance. Recovering architect. 🇧🇪 🇧🇷 - he/him
🔗 http://linktr.ee/tovanbo
🔗 http://linktr.ee/tovanbo
as of this patch I've started tracking how far all Laser Dance players have walked in aggregate. 🏃
10 hours since the patch went live, its already 160km 😅
10 hours since the patch went live, its already 160km 😅
November 14, 2025 at 10:23 PM
as of this patch I've started tracking how far all Laser Dance players have walked in aggregate. 🏃
10 hours since the patch went live, its already 160km 😅
10 hours since the patch went live, its already 160km 😅
Over 220.000 lasers have been tripped since Laser Dance's release last week!
Thank you all for playing 🙌
Thank you all for playing 🙌
November 13, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Over 220.000 lasers have been tripped since Laser Dance's release last week!
Thank you all for playing 🙌
Thank you all for playing 🙌
Laser Dance is just around the corner🕺
Make sure to catch the Early Access release on Meta Quest 3/3s tomorrow!
👉https://bit.ly/3W0huQf
Make sure to catch the Early Access release on Meta Quest 3/3s tomorrow!
👉https://bit.ly/3W0huQf
November 5, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Laser Dance is just around the corner🕺
Make sure to catch the Early Access release on Meta Quest 3/3s tomorrow!
👉https://bit.ly/3W0huQf
Make sure to catch the Early Access release on Meta Quest 3/3s tomorrow!
👉https://bit.ly/3W0huQf
this is also easily the nicest way anyone has acknowledged that it took 3+ years to get this game out the door 😂
Thanks @ianhamilton.net!
Thanks @ianhamilton.net!
November 5, 2025 at 10:43 AM
this is also easily the nicest way anyone has acknowledged that it took 3+ years to get this game out the door 😂
Thanks @ianhamilton.net!
Thanks @ianhamilton.net!
Are you a creator actively making XR content, or know someone who is?
Want to try out Laser Dance before its early access release on Nov 6th?
Shoot me a DM or contact me at thomas@laserdancegame.com!
Want to try out Laser Dance before its early access release on Nov 6th?
Shoot me a DM or contact me at thomas@laserdancegame.com!
October 26, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Are you a creator actively making XR content, or know someone who is?
Want to try out Laser Dance before its early access release on Nov 6th?
Shoot me a DM or contact me at thomas@laserdancegame.com!
Want to try out Laser Dance before its early access release on Nov 6th?
Shoot me a DM or contact me at thomas@laserdancegame.com!
Short Cubism mention in an article by @alexspencerdale.bsky.social in the latest Edge magazine!
October 25, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Short Cubism mention in an article by @alexspencerdale.bsky.social in the latest Edge magazine!
Cubism is a launch title on Galaxy XR! 🎉
Here's what the game looks like on device, playing in MR with hand tracking.
Get it on Google Play here ➡️ bit.ly/49dLaA6
Here's what the game looks like on device, playing in MR with hand tracking.
Get it on Google Play here ➡️ bit.ly/49dLaA6
October 22, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Cubism is a launch title on Galaxy XR! 🎉
Here's what the game looks like on device, playing in MR with hand tracking.
Get it on Google Play here ➡️ bit.ly/49dLaA6
Here's what the game looks like on device, playing in MR with hand tracking.
Get it on Google Play here ➡️ bit.ly/49dLaA6
soon you can.
(you'll need to put Thé à la Menthe on yourself though)
@laserdancegame.bsky.social #metaquest
(you'll need to put Thé à la Menthe on yourself though)
@laserdancegame.bsky.social #metaquest
October 20, 2025 at 9:44 AM
soon you can.
(you'll need to put Thé à la Menthe on yourself though)
@laserdancegame.bsky.social #metaquest
(you'll need to put Thé à la Menthe on yourself though)
@laserdancegame.bsky.social #metaquest
@CubismVR release 5 years ago today🎉
In 5 years, players have:
⌛️ collectively played for 25+ years
🧩 solved over 5M puzzles
😤 and rage quit over 3M puzzles!
Thanks to everyone who played over the last few years!
In 5 years, players have:
⌛️ collectively played for 25+ years
🧩 solved over 5M puzzles
😤 and rage quit over 3M puzzles!
Thanks to everyone who played over the last few years!
September 17, 2025 at 3:37 PM
@CubismVR release 5 years ago today🎉
In 5 years, players have:
⌛️ collectively played for 25+ years
🧩 solved over 5M puzzles
😤 and rage quit over 3M puzzles!
Thanks to everyone who played over the last few years!
In 5 years, players have:
⌛️ collectively played for 25+ years
🧩 solved over 5M puzzles
😤 and rage quit over 3M puzzles!
Thanks to everyone who played over the last few years!
I'll be attending #Gamescom this Wednesday for one day only!
Shoot me a message if you want to chat about @laserdancegame.bsky.social, @cubismvr.bsky.social or Mixed Reality development in general!
Shoot me a message if you want to chat about @laserdancegame.bsky.social, @cubismvr.bsky.social or Mixed Reality development in general!
August 18, 2025 at 6:30 PM
I'll be attending #Gamescom this Wednesday for one day only!
Shoot me a message if you want to chat about @laserdancegame.bsky.social, @cubismvr.bsky.social or Mixed Reality development in general!
Shoot me a message if you want to chat about @laserdancegame.bsky.social, @cubismvr.bsky.social or Mixed Reality development in general!
Shooting some experimental Cubism footage today
August 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Shooting some experimental Cubism footage today
If you ever check git blame it's like:
July 21, 2025 at 1:52 PM
If you ever check git blame it's like:
If you ever wondered if your room is big enough to play @laserdancegame.bsky.social, here it is running in a tiny hotel room in Brighton.
(Also I'll be at #DevelopBrighton tomorrow and Thursday! Shoot me a message if you want to talk Laser Dance or MR dev)
(Also I'll be at #DevelopBrighton tomorrow and Thursday! Shoot me a message if you want to talk Laser Dance or MR dev)
July 8, 2025 at 9:01 PM
If you ever wondered if your room is big enough to play @laserdancegame.bsky.social, here it is running in a tiny hotel room in Brighton.
(Also I'll be at #DevelopBrighton tomorrow and Thursday! Shoot me a message if you want to talk Laser Dance or MR dev)
(Also I'll be at #DevelopBrighton tomorrow and Thursday! Shoot me a message if you want to talk Laser Dance or MR dev)
A local bakery in my neighbourhood sells this absolute unit of a brioche
July 8, 2025 at 4:22 PM
A local bakery in my neighbourhood sells this absolute unit of a brioche
Thanks!
A big inspiration for making this game was struggling to find enough space to play roomscale games on the HTC Vive back in 2016. The nice thing with MR is games can try and adapt to the space instead :)
(e.g. here's a recent clip of me testing the game in a small hotel room in the UK)
A big inspiration for making this game was struggling to find enough space to play roomscale games on the HTC Vive back in 2016. The nice thing with MR is games can try and adapt to the space instead :)
(e.g. here's a recent clip of me testing the game in a small hotel room in the UK)
June 6, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Thanks!
A big inspiration for making this game was struggling to find enough space to play roomscale games on the HTC Vive back in 2016. The nice thing with MR is games can try and adapt to the space instead :)
(e.g. here's a recent clip of me testing the game in a small hotel room in the UK)
A big inspiration for making this game was struggling to find enough space to play roomscale games on the HTC Vive back in 2016. The nice thing with MR is games can try and adapt to the space instead :)
(e.g. here's a recent clip of me testing the game in a small hotel room in the UK)
This game is played between two virtual buttons - as long as the shortest path between them is 3m, it should work.
So yes, it may be difficult in very small or narrow rooms, but it'll work in more rooms than you might think :)
So yes, it may be difficult in very small or narrow rooms, but it'll work in more rooms than you might think :)
June 6, 2025 at 8:52 PM
This game is played between two virtual buttons - as long as the shortest path between them is 3m, it should work.
So yes, it may be difficult in very small or narrow rooms, but it'll work in more rooms than you might think :)
So yes, it may be difficult in very small or narrow rooms, but it'll work in more rooms than you might think :)
Hey #PitchYaGame 👋
I'm making LASER DANCE - a game built from the ground up for Mixed Reality to turn any room of your house into a laser obstacle course!
It's coming to early access later this fall, but you can already wishlist it here 👉 bit.ly/3W0huQf
I'm making LASER DANCE - a game built from the ground up for Mixed Reality to turn any room of your house into a laser obstacle course!
It's coming to early access later this fall, but you can already wishlist it here 👉 bit.ly/3W0huQf
June 6, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Hey #PitchYaGame 👋
I'm making LASER DANCE - a game built from the ground up for Mixed Reality to turn any room of your house into a laser obstacle course!
It's coming to early access later this fall, but you can already wishlist it here 👉 bit.ly/3W0huQf
I'm making LASER DANCE - a game built from the ground up for Mixed Reality to turn any room of your house into a laser obstacle course!
It's coming to early access later this fall, but you can already wishlist it here 👉 bit.ly/3W0huQf
Oh wow, Belgium’s very own flatiron building 😅
June 3, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Oh wow, Belgium’s very own flatiron building 😅
For more complex shots with moving patterns, we'd draw patterns on the floor rather than tracing the laser.
For example, for this shot we just drew the grid the lasers traced on the floor.
8/9
For example, for this shot we just drew the grid the lasers traced on the floor.
8/9
May 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM
For more complex shots with moving patterns, we'd draw patterns on the floor rather than tracing the laser.
For example, for this shot we just drew the grid the lasers traced on the floor.
8/9
For example, for this shot we just drew the grid the lasers traced on the floor.
8/9
In the player's headset, the result looked something like this - sparse, but enough spatial information to act around when recording.
7/9
7/9
May 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM
In the player's headset, the result looked something like this - sparse, but enough spatial information to act around when recording.
7/9
7/9
The solution we found was to run OpenBrush in the player's headset, and have them draw spatial stage markers for the laser pattern they'd be about to traverse.
Here's me and @nixer87.bsky.social tracing out the main lasers and the button for the opening shot.
6/9
Here's me and @nixer87.bsky.social tracing out the main lasers and the button for the opening shot.
6/9
May 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The solution we found was to run OpenBrush in the player's headset, and have them draw spatial stage markers for the laser pattern they'd be about to traverse.
Here's me and @nixer87.bsky.social tracing out the main lasers and the button for the opening shot.
6/9
Here's me and @nixer87.bsky.social tracing out the main lasers and the button for the opening shot.
6/9
The challenge we still needed to solve was how to choreograph the player, as they can't actually see the game in their headset.
Early on I tested little pieces of tape on the floor, like in this test shot - but this wasn't versatile enough for more complex laser patterns.
5/9
Early on I tested little pieces of tape on the floor, like in this test shot - but this wasn't versatile enough for more complex laser patterns.
5/9
May 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The challenge we still needed to solve was how to choreograph the player, as they can't actually see the game in their headset.
Early on I tested little pieces of tape on the floor, like in this test shot - but this wasn't versatile enough for more complex laser patterns.
5/9
Early on I tested little pieces of tape on the floor, like in this test shot - but this wasn't versatile enough for more complex laser patterns.
5/9
The footage we shot for this video is different in that we had an actual player in the footage.
The camera runs the game, and the "player" just wears a quest in passthrough. Because of dynamic occlusion, the "player" appears between the lasers without the need for any additional compositing.
4/9
The camera runs the game, and the "player" just wears a quest in passthrough. Because of dynamic occlusion, the "player" appears between the lasers without the need for any additional compositing.
4/9
May 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The footage we shot for this video is different in that we had an actual player in the footage.
The camera runs the game, and the "player" just wears a quest in passthrough. Because of dynamic occlusion, the "player" appears between the lasers without the need for any additional compositing.
4/9
The camera runs the game, and the "player" just wears a quest in passthrough. Because of dynamic occlusion, the "player" appears between the lasers without the need for any additional compositing.
4/9
A lot of R&D and experimentation preceded this video, and I think we finally figured out the workflow for quickly recording smooth "3rd person" MR footage.
Before anything, a huge shout out to @nixer87.bsky.social and @xanderbestondal.bsky.social for helping me with the shoot!
2/9
Before anything, a huge shout out to @nixer87.bsky.social and @xanderbestondal.bsky.social for helping me with the shoot!
2/9
May 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM
A lot of R&D and experimentation preceded this video, and I think we finally figured out the workflow for quickly recording smooth "3rd person" MR footage.
Before anything, a huge shout out to @nixer87.bsky.social and @xanderbestondal.bsky.social for helping me with the shoot!
2/9
Before anything, a huge shout out to @nixer87.bsky.social and @xanderbestondal.bsky.social for helping me with the shoot!
2/9
Laser Dance is coming to ✨Early Access✨ later this fall!
More details to follow soon, but be sure to wishlist the game on Meta Quest in the meantime 🙌
➡️ bit.ly/3W0huQf
More details to follow soon, but be sure to wishlist the game on Meta Quest in the meantime 🙌
➡️ bit.ly/3W0huQf
May 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Laser Dance is coming to ✨Early Access✨ later this fall!
More details to follow soon, but be sure to wishlist the game on Meta Quest in the meantime 🙌
➡️ bit.ly/3W0huQf
More details to follow soon, but be sure to wishlist the game on Meta Quest in the meantime 🙌
➡️ bit.ly/3W0huQf