Recursive Reality

This is a list of all the projects made for Recursive Reality, a virtual reality / 3D world building class at the Parsons School for Design in NYC. In this class, we aimed to get a sense of “virtual reality” as it is understood culturally, as in the popular “holodeck” from Star Trek or the television-wall by Ray Bradbury or even the networked implant dystopia in Black Mirror. We also looked at VR in a more technical sense, at current industry concerns and theories of usability design for VR. Our studies culminated in midterm and final projects that map the emerging field of virtual reality as a socially-constructed technologically-mediated space. (Media inquiries? Contact the New School: http://blogs.newschool.edu/pressroom/home/media-contacts/)

MIDTERM PROJECTS: focus on a specific emotional experience

“WATCH OUT” (Chia Hsuan Chou, Chia Wei Liao, Jung An Lin)
Terrifying traffic safety cross-em-up, inspired by Crossy Road.

“INFINITEMYTH” (Tingshan Gou, Luobin Wang, Geyao Zhang) 
Experiment in spatial paradox; a living room that always leads back to itself.

“ENTRANCE” (Stephanie Burgess, Alec Dawson, Betty Quinn, Madhav Tanaka)
Virtual reality as drug-fueled escapism, with disastrous consequences.

“BLOODY HOUSE” (Daniel Ribeiro, Paula Zanotelli)
Laboratory-horror experience inspired by riddles and the danger of technology.

“MOM CAN’T TAKE THAT SHIT FROM ME” (Barbara Compagnoni, Natasha Lewandrowski, Kamille Rodriguez)
A brat must methodically retrieve his Game Boy from a spooky attic. Mommm!

“BUNNY IN THE HOUSE” (Bryan Collinsworth, Tyler Henry, Miri Park, Victoria Yen)
Domestic horror experience about the naive unblinking cruelty of children.

FINAL PROJECTS: experiment conceptually or technically

“EMPATHY” (Bryan Collinsworth)
Critique of drone warfare, gamification of war, and the limits of VR rhetoric.

“STRINGS” (Natasha Lewandrowski)
Mystery story set inside the mind of a comatose psychiatric patient, with custom-built dial-based controller.

“DAYDREAM” (Victoria Yen)
Playful exploration of tropes in Japanese romance comics / kabe-don simulator for Google Cardboard.

“FURR” (Betty Quinn, Madhav Tanaka)
Leap Motion-aided petting simulator, chock full of pleasant whimsy.

“SUBWAY SIMULATOR 2015″(Chia Hsuan Chou, Chia Wei Liao, Jung An Lin)
Explore the depths of the NYC subway system, and do things you wouldn’t normally do in the subway.

“HARMONY” (Stephanie Burgess)
An immersive approach to guided meditations and inner chakras.

“SPLITTING” (Alec Dawson)
Narrative reflection on childhood and flawed parents.

“BUNNY12″ (Miri Park)
Cartoonish meta simulation of being a Parsons MFADT student.

“INNER VORTEX” (Chia Hsuan Chou)
Narrative mystery game based on observation and panoramic photospheres

“THE SLEEP WALKER” (Chia Wei Liao)
Chat with a therapy AI to cut out the painful memories from your brain.

“S.O.L.A.R.I.S”
Build and explore your own solar system.

“ROACH TRAP” (Tyler Henry)
You wake up in the carapace of a common American cockroach, hiding under the bed in a New York City apartment…

“SESSIONS” (Barbara Compagnoni)
Therapeutic tool that combines alternative forms of therapy with the serenity of the ocean

“POISON” (Kamille Rodriguez)

Splitting, a narrative game, critiques our methods of devaluation and idealization. These defense mechanisms, used to soften our reality, prevent individuals from accepting their true reality. Splitting allows players to reflect on their perception of reality, with and without such methods.

Those closest to us are ideal targets for our idealization. A child’s relationship with their parents continuously presents situations where idealization occurs. In Splitting, William relives conflicting situations of his upbringing. Delving into topics such as alcoholism and infidelity, Splitting aims not to label good and evil, but rather allow the player to find the space in between.

There is no black, there is no white. All we have is grey. Splitting exists on these principles. Context is reality. Without acknowledging context, we actively attempt to live in a false reality. Accepting reality, living in the truth, allows for fulfillment.

- Alec

This is a “serious game” experience that takes a critical look at the distancing/dehumanizing effects of drone warfare, the “gamification” of war, and claims about VR’s ability to create “empathy” in users purely by being immersed in a 3D simulation.

“Empathy” simulates the view of a Predator Drone (and drone pilot) seeking out and destroying targets. The reason for destroying the targets is never actually explained – though the presumption that the player should destroy them, as part of the game context, is clear. (Destroying a target will increase a player’s score and cause a new target to randomly spawn.)

As the player approaches a target, however, they realize that the chatter they hear over their radio is actually recordings of news reports on the consequences of real-world drone attacks over the past few years. And as the player destroys more and more targets, and increases their score, the flaming wreckage of their previous strikes remains, and the landscape starts to look more and more hellish.

- BC

Strings is a mystery story set inside the mind of a comatose psychiatric patient. It is designed for a single participant who is situated in the role of the patient’s psychologist. The psychiatrist uses an experimental Neurolink device to access the mind of the patient, Arianna, through her coma with the goal helping her to escape from the psychological maze in which she is trapped. However, the plan backfires when Arianna begins to guess that she is not alone in her mind.

The story is loosely based on the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur resituated in a contemporary context. I utilize the Unity game engine, the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality (VR) headset, and a custom controller powered by Arduino to create a three-dimensional environment where the player progresses through the narrative by exploring a surreal landscape. Strings touches on issues of how current and emerging technology obscures the boundaries between private and shared space. It also raises questions about individual agency and consent within digital environments.

The custom controller is powered by Arduino and iPac2.

Splitting, a narrative game, critiques our methods of devaluation and idealization. These defense mechanisms, used to soften our reality, prevent individuals from accepting their true reality. Splitting allows players to reflect on their perception of reality, with and without such methods.

Those closest to us are ideal targets for our idealization. A child’s relationship with their parents continuously presents situations where idealization occurs. In Splitting, William relives conflicting situations of his upbringing. Delving into topics such as alcoholism and infidelity, Splitting aims not to label good and evil, but rather allow the player to find the space in between.

There is no black, there is no white. All we have is grey. Splitting exists on these principles. Context is reality. Without acknowledging context, we actively attempt to live in a false reality. Accepting reality, living in the truth, allows for fulfillment.

Alec

Subway Simulator 2015

Feel free to walk around in this NYC subway station. This simulator is not based on reality, however, it suggest that you do something different than usual in a subtle way.

We create this subway station and train with our maximum passion. Learning modeling, ndo/ddo and gathering information was a painful but rewarding experience, also allowed us to learn some hidden history of this amazing system.  

Group Member: Luobin Wang, Tingshan Gou, Geyao Zhang.

This is a Game based on building and exploring your own Solar System. The 3D models were all based on Low Poly art style.

We wanted it to look like a complete different experience from other of VR games, so we decided to build something where the player would be allowed to use his/her imagination to create an environment.

During the game the player can add planets, change their color, make them bigger or smaller or even make them slower or faster. 

The preliminary project was really ambitious, but due to our limitations and the amount of time we had, we compressed it in the most interest ion interactions.

Paula and Daniel

My project is about making players to experience the “Romance feeling” inside the Japanese girl’s comic, in order to make fun of how unreality the girl’s comic is.

https://youtu.be/Qeq2OhuZlG4

These is my process:

1. Basic Function Check

2. Decided Story

3. Modeling

4. Coding and Animation Making

5. Users Testing and Adjusting