Soulvana

Category

VR | 3D Animation | Interactive

Year

2021

Project info

Do you want to escape the stress and chaos of everyday life and embark on a journey of self-discovery and healing? Soulvana is a VR experience that will take you to a land of soul, where you can explore, learn, and grow. Soulvana means the land of soul, and in this VR experience, you will immerse yourself in a wonderland of peaceful nature sounds and visuals. Along the way, you will face daily tasks and big missions that will challenge you to share, help, and connect with the characters or your surroundings. Each mission has a story and a lesson about your inner-self, and you will discover new aspects of your personality, emotions, values, and purpose. And to make your journey even more meaningful, Soulvana will always give you one prompt of thought every time you enter the VR experience. These prompts will invite you to reflect, meditate, or express yourself in creative ways. These prompts are meant to be brought with you throughout the day as reminders or inspirations for your daily life. Soulvana is more than just a VR game; it is a journey of transformation that will enrich your soul. Are you ready to enter Soulvana?
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Depression

Depression is a global health issue that affects 264 million people. The Coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated its impact by harming people physically and mentally. Many people are confined at home, unemployed, and facing uncertainty. Maintaining mental health is crucial in these challenging times. I aim to create an experience that can help people unwind for 5–10 minutes after a stressful day; a walk in a marvelous land, with interactions that can nourish their soul and help them focus on their inner selves.

The Mantras

“Darling, I’m here for you”
“Darling, I know you are there and I’m so happy”
“Darling, I know you suffer. That is why I’m here for you”
“Darling, I suffer. Please help me”

These 4 sentences by Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh inspire me to live peacefully and mindfully with all beings. I resonate truly with his philosophy of compassion, happiness, sadness and openness. I want the VR experience to spread love and inspire people how to embrace their surroundings and their souls.

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5 mins of appreciation

The idea is inspired by a habit of reflecting on or writing down one positive thing that happened each day. This can help end the day on a positive note, even when there are difficulties or failures. The goal is to develop a positive mindset by looking for the bright side, no matter how small. The experience includes short stories and missions that can bring joy or satisfaction, and a relaxing environment that allows exploration, nature sounds, and animal companionship. This can help nurture inner gratitude and healing.

Process Recap

The first step is brainstorming ideas for a VR experience that can help people more mindful about their mental health. Mind maps, sketches, and notes are used to organize thoughts and explore different possibilities, following with a storyboard of the main scenes and sketched interactions. Next, the 3D modeling software - Blender, is used to create the assets and environments for the VR experience. Finally, the 3D models are imported into Unity. Unity’s tools and scripts are used to add interactivity, sound, animation, and logic to the VR experience.

Visual Style

The cute aesthetic guides the creation of 3D models that are charming and appealing. This visual style suits the target users, who want to have fun and relax with the 3D scenes, regardless of their age or background. The 3D objects are soft and cuddly, with minimal or no texture and round and smooth shapes. These features make the scenes more attractive and engaging. The project uses a warm color scheme to create a friendly and cozy mood, as shown below.

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Expand your heart and fill it with love as you help the girl overcome her fears and insecurities. Watch her smile as she feels your warmth and compassion.

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Use your VR controller to sweep away the worms that are crawling on the girl’s head and making her anxious. Show her that she is not alone and that you are here to support her.

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Pick out the ugly mushroom that is growing on the girl’s face and making her cry. Help her heal her wounds and restore her brightness.

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TO CONCLUDE

This is the first time that I have a close approach to things related to coding and gaming, so I feel like I learn so much yet so little. Unity is an amazing software that helps me to bring ideas to life, in the virtual world. It is definitely not an easy horse to ride, because you have to evolve with it and deeply understand the core of coding to manage it. I am proud of myself to not give up when I bumped into so many mistakes and failed from time to time. This project helps me to know capability for the next projects and be aware of the amount of technical issues you can face. I need to learn about how to apply Animation from Blender and the object are still able to be interacted with in Unity. If this can be done, I can make my visuals closer to my imaginations. Soulvana is a project that explores the potential of virtual reality to heal the self. It is an initial attempt therefore requires further research and collaboration with experts in psychology, patients and users. The intersection of mental health and VR is a challenging and controversial topic that demands careful consideration of ethical and practical issues. I may not pursue this project further due to its complexity, but I hope to revisit it when I have more resources.

Process Documentation

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