‘Where’s Waldo’ remastered

Johann Gan, Writer

Content creators around the world have taken advantage of YouTube’s 360-degree video support—which the website released last year—to upload scenic tours of nature, high speed vehicle simulations and immersive gaming experiences. The visual effects channel, CorridorDigital, released yet another captivating video experience in February: Where’s Waldo in 360 degrees.

The original Where’s Waldo children’s books depicted crowds of cartoonish people doing various wacky activities. Readers aimed to locate Waldo, a glasses-wearing man sporting a recognizable red-and-white-striped shirt and hat, in the crowd of people and various red (and-white-striped) herrings.

The four-minute video, “Where’s Waldo 360,” expands on this idea. It features two serious looking agents in suits searching for Waldo in six different locations. Viewers can freely look around the bustling environments on their own or observe the recorded manhunt and listen to the confused agents as Waldo outwits them over and over. For more fun, overachievers can look down to see a list of extra targets to watch out for.

The video is a short but fun tidbit that is sure to provide a good amount of enjoyment. The topic lends itself perfectly to the interactivity of YouTube 360, making for an entertaining online activity that gives viewers the freedom to explore the detailed surroundings. To add on to this, the nearly seamless editing creates a highly immersive environment for the game. CorridorDigital convincingly stitches together pictures of the different areas into complete, panoramic environments in which Waldo hides, such as an expansive beach with the ocean waves glimmering in the evening sun. After combining this with the funny dialogue and cheery music, “Where’s Waldo 360” will bring viewers much joy and awe. Furthermore, people familiar with the Where’s Waldo books will get the benefit of nostalgia from playing the game in a more realistic setting.

Of course, the video has its flaws. Because of the need to capture footage in all directions, even at the highest resolution the crispness of the images fails to match reality. Furthermore, at higher resolutions, slower systems may strain to play the video without a noticeable drop in frame rate and loading time. These problems plague all 360 videos, but the slow pace and large amount of people in “Where’s Waldo 360” make them more noticeable than in other 360 videos, such as one of a Blue Angel flight.

Overall, “Where’s Waldo 360” is a virtual experience that is well worth your four minutes. See the attached video to watch what is no doubt a precursor to the many fascinating YouTube creations to come.