Echoes of an Unseen Land
This VR experience explores themes of loss of childhood innocence, escapism, and rampant imagination. Users can navigate a surreal landscape that reflects the inner world of a child coping with trauma, but time is limited, forcing the user to return back to their reality.
Overview
"Echoes of an Unseen Land" is a VR experience developed to immerse users in the surreal and imaginative world of a child dealing with trauma. The experience is designed to evoke feelings of nostalgia, wonder, and melancholy as users navigate through a fantastical landscape that reflects the child's inner world. The narrative explores themes of loss of innocence, escapism, and the power of imagination in coping with difficult emotions.
Trailer
Technical Implementation
The project was built using Unity's XR Interaction Toolkit to create an immersive VR environment compatible with Oculus Quest devices. The experience features a combination of hand-tracking and controller-based interactions, allowing users to explore the environment intuitively.
Key Systems
- Interactive Lighting & Particles: As users explore the child's inner world, they can interact with giant mushrooms that feature dynamic lighting and particles that bloom as you pass.
- Spatial Audio Integration: The experience begins in the real world, where you can hear 3D audio of crickets chirping and parents arguing. In the fantasy world, sounds seem closer and more exciting, while the real world sounds are more disassociated and far away.
- VR Interaction: Utilizing Unity's XR Interaction Toolkit, I implemented intuitive VR controls for the experience.
Technical Challenges
One of the main technical challenges was creating a seamless transition between the real world and the fantasy world. This involved careful management of scene loading and unloading, as well as ensuring that the audio and visual effects were synchronized to create a cohesive experience. I implemented asynchronous scene loading to minimize loading times and used audio mixers to smoothly transition between different soundscapes. I also utilized a fade-in and fade-out effect to enhance the transition experience.
Another challenge was optimizing the VR experience to run smoothly on Oculus Quest hardware while maintaining high visual fidelity. I employed techniques such as baked lighting and efficient asset loading to ensure a comfortable and immersive experience for users.
Gallery
Outcomes & Learnings
The game was featured in UT's AET Audio Pixel Collider showcase. Through this project, I gained valuable experience in VR development, particularly in creating immersive environments that effectively convey complex emotional narratives. I also learned the importance of user testing in VR to ensure comfort and engagement, as well as the technical aspects of optimizing performance for standalone VR devices.