Hawaii Public Radio | By Russell Subiono
Published December 16, 2021 at 11:44 AM HST
There’s a new professional sports team representing our state — but it’s not what you might be thinking. The Hawaiian Islands Ocean Dragons is a professional esports team created to play in the Metaverse. If you’re wondering what exactly the “Metaverse” is, so are we. The Conversation sat down with the creator of the team, Oregon-native Justin Lacche to learn more.
Lacche is fluent in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. It’s a language his family is familiar with — his grandfather was stationed at Fort Kamehameha on Oʻahu during the 1940s — and learned to speak it. Lacche described what the Metaverse is, how it can potentially benefit Hawaiʻi students — and help preserve the Hawaiian language.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Dec. 15, 2021. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
Russell Subiono has been with Hawai‘i Public Radio since 2019. Born in Honolulu and raised on Hawaiʻi Island, he’s spent the last decade working in local film, TV, and radio. He got his start at HPR as a Production Assistant on The Conversation from 2016-2017. Prior to his return, he spent two years as a producer at KITV4 Island News, where he oversaw Hawai‘i’s only hour-long evening broadcast. He also served as HPR’s Fund Drive Producer for two years before returning to The Conversation as Executive Producer. In the moments when he’s not working at the station, you can find him visiting donut shops, making top-5 lists, and developing comedy videos that never get made.
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