LOST WORLD
An immersive experience that takes you on a journey through the dystopian environments of post-climatic apocalyptic Earth now inhabited by evolved creatures.
Team:
Caroline James - 3D Modeler
Neeti Kumar - VR Environment Development
Yazhe (Ria) Li - VR UI Development
Shizra Manzar - Concept Art, Art Direction
Donatella Mikulasch - 3D Animation, Project Management
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic / Discovery / ASMR
Specifically Targeted Device: Oculus Quest 2
Concept:
In the aftermath of the climate apocalypse, humanity faced a daunting reality: the planet they called home was no longer habitable. Forced to abandon their once thriving world, they embarked on a journey into the unknown depths of space, seeking a new home.
Now, centuries have passed since that fateful exodus, and it is the year 3023 AD.
Earth, left barren and lifeless, has begun to show signs of rejuvenation. The air, once thick with pollution and toxic gasses, is no longer harmful to the creatures that now live there. The oceans, once choked with plastic and waste, are now teeming with new forms of aquatic life. As humanity looks back upon their former world, they see a planet that has evolved in ways they could never have imagined. Strangely evolved, fantastical, spirit-like creatures roam the landscape, each one adapting to the harsh and unpredictable environment. Giant snails, unicorn dolphins that swim in the sky; mushrooms that grow through cars; anything is possible.
Despite the hardships of their ancestors, the people returning to visit earth feel a sense of wonder and excitement as they witness the evolution of a world that was once left for dead. It is a reminder that even in the face of insurmountable challenges, life always finds a way to persevere.
This project is intended as a demo version of an immersive experience that can be expanded to several other countries with environments that feature different creatures and forms of life. We want this project to span a range of countries to portray how climate change impacts everyone. It is a global issue and looking at the Western-focused media, we feel people need to be reminded of that. Although climate change and how devastating it can be is a bleak topic, we don’t want our experience to carry the sadness that is inevitable. Instead, we want there to be a sense of hope and wonder in how incredible nature is, and how insignificant humanity can be in the face of it.
For this version, we have created two environments; Lahore, Pakistan, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both of these environments revolve around a significant site from its respective country. The Pakistani environment shows the Minar-e-Pakistan located in the city of Lahore and showcases the remains of trees as the monument is placed in a park. The Argentinian environment features the Argentine Obelisk placed on the 9th of July Avenue. It showcases the remains of cars as it is known to be the widest and most crowded avenue in the world.
Visually, we aim to create an environment that is semi-realistic with the static assets featured in them (like cars and monuments) having a slightly damaged appearance, portraying the idea of an apocalyptic aftermath.
What is unrealistic and more magical about the environment are the creatures and mushrooms that have evolved in these environments. We have given them translucent holographic textures that glow and express an otherworldly feeling.
We have not created these environments to be scientifically based on what 3023 AD would actually look like, it is a reinterpretation of current reality that aims to express how life can be more without humans, and how there is always hope for a future even when the world seems to be falling apart, and is falling apart before us. The objective of setting these two environments in locations that are well known is to give a sense of familiarity, but at the same time change it enough to feel like a new land.
Player Journey:
Intro Scene - This scene starts the experience with a tutorial picture that explains how to use the controllers. The user must click the NEXT button to progress through the introductions slides. The final slide gives the user a choice of which location to journey to first. Clicking your choice takes you to the next scene.
Location Scene - You land in the location of your choice. On entering the space, the user is free to explore the area as they like. There are tombstones on the way to the building in the distance; each one attracts the users' attention with glowing mushrooms nearby. As the user approaches these tombstones, each one reveals some information about the history of the location. The order of these pieces of information is unimportant to the narrative of the space, and equally missing some of them is not a problem.
The spaces are filled with fog, restricting the users' view and forcing them to move through the environment to discover the various assets in it. On the way through past tombstones, the user may choose to look at the various creatures and interesting models populating the space including bright wobbling mushrooms that help direct the users' attention. Once past the building, there is a final tombstone a small distance away. Approaching this triggers a panel that allows the viewer to change scenes and travel to a different location, or alternatively look at the credits including attributions for some of the assets we used.