REKINDLE

INFO

Abstract

A first-person narrative experience in VR where the interactor embodies a gay protagonist on a journey to retrieve lost memories.

Set in a dystopian future, where a regime enforces stringent heteronormativity through the manipulation of memories, this project endeavors to push the boundaries of interactive narrative in virtual reality, exploring how embodiment and agency driven interactions can enhance narrative, hence deepen user engagement and emotional connection.

Advisors

Dr. Janet Murray, Dr. Jay Bolter

Role

Director, Technical Designer, Unity Developer, 3D Designer/Animator

Timeline

Aug 2022 – Present

Tools

Unity, Blender, Maya, Motion Builder, Substance Painter

Collaborators

Jinyu Qian: 3D Design (the club scene)
Xuedan Gao: Music & Sound Effect
Yifeng Yu: Music Production
Brayan Llamoza: Mocap Dance

Recognition

CHI 2024

May 11-16, 2024, Honolulu

The short paper "Rekindle: Enhancing Interactive Narrative in Virtual Reality with Coherent, Agency-driven Interactions" was published at CHI 2024, and the VR narrative experience was presented at CHI 2024 Interactivity.

Paper

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ICIDS 2023 Art Exhibition

Nov 14-17, 2023, Japan

A preliminary version of this project was presented at the International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS) 2023’s 10th Art Exhibition: Traversing Boundaries, Barriers, and Borders.

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Overview

Motivation

Fostering understanding and empathy towards the LGBTQ+ community.

Research Challenge

How might we more effectively leverage the interactivity in VR to create dramatic agency, thereby enriching the narrative?

Goals

Create a first-person narrative experience in VR where the interactor embodies a gay protagonist that focus on:

Dramatic Agency

By leveraging interactivity within the narrative, the project aims to endow the user with meaningful agency, allowing for a significant impact on the story's progression and outcome.

Active Creation of Belief

Designing interactions that are not only coherent and grounded in the narrative but also contribute to the construction of interactor’s belief of the story, hence enhance the narrative.

Interactions

Achieving Active Creation of Belief through coherent interactions

The design ethos of this project rests on conveying the story through coherent interactions that’s grounded from narrative, naturally weaving user interaction together with the story, to achieve “Active Creation of Belief.”

To achieve this, I introduced the concept of a “headspace”, a functional virtual environment that connects the reality the memories dimension.

Entering the Headspace from Reality through a Virtual Headset

The narrative journey begins in the bedroom. Prompted by a mysterious box written with the words "remember who you are”, leading the interactor to find the Mind Link inside - a memory retrieval device. As the interactor puts on the Mink Link, they enter a liminal space, where a user interface suggests their memory has been overwritten. Selecting “Access Encrypted Memories” initiates memory reconstruction, transporting the interactor into the Headspace.

Mind Link Box

Donning the Mind Link

Liminal Space

From Headspace to Memories Dimension through a portal

In the headspace, the interactor will acquire the "Memory Illuminator," a pivotal interactive artifact. The act of grasping the Memory Illuminator triggers a door opening; after passing through the door, the interactor will enter the memory dimension and traverse the space to discover memory fragments disseminated throughout.

Headspace

Acquiring Memory Illuminator

Arriving at the Memory Dimension

Memory Collection Mechanics

Creating dramatic agency with interactivity

Memory Illuminator

Central to the experience is the memory retrieval mechanic, which uses a particle system to represent memory fragments, and the Memory Illuminator allows players to navigate the environment and search for them.

Memory Retrieval Mechanic

The illuminator provides proximity-based feedback through haptic vibration, spatial audio, and visual glow when the player is near a memory fragment, guiding exploration. When the player is close enough, glowing memory particles emerge, evoking the sensation of reliving the past. When the player presses the VR controller's trigger, particles flow into the illuminator and its meter fills incrementally,.

Seeking Lost Memories Narrative

The illuminator serves as a vehicle for the "seeking lost memories" narrative, it continues to guides the player to identify and collect memory fragments scattered throughout the space.

Wayfinder Line

As the progress meter fills, a Wayfinder line shoots from the device and guides players to the reopened portal that leads to the Headspace.

Reclaiming the Past

Memory Materialization

Returning the memory illuminator to the Headspace dissolves it into drifting particles that gather and solidify into statues, each representing a memory once lost. These statues symbolize Vincent’s reclaimed past, delivering a powerful message of reasserting his identity.