Xiangyun Liu

Environment

My project is about how we are the product of the environment.

Use arrow keys to move around and use "AWSD" to rotate the camera. The moving function might be a little bit weird after you turn around because it's changing according to the axis.

My intention is to present my idea that we are trained by the environment. There are two rooms, the first one has no light but audio and the second has light, objects and audio. When the player starts the game, the sound in the first room might make them think of forest, firepits and dogs. After they enter the second room, they would find that the sound sources are not what they expected. They see spiders barking and water sounds like burning fire. When they come back to the first room, the image presented in their mind might change.
In the very beginning, I only wanted to show that sounds could be misleading sometimes since this strategy has been used in some games and movies. When I was actually working on the project, I found that this structure (the loop formed by two rooms) is similar to how we are receiving similar social media feeds everyday. The information we received could shape our thoughts and worldview unconsciously. We are the product of the environment. When a person is trapped in the same environment, weird things may essentially become normal to them. This is also how some information cocoons form and it could be applied to things other than "audio-sound source" pair.

Initial Sketch for structure

Initial Concept

Structure

A loop. Black part is the first room and the white part is the second room.

First Plan

objects in the very beginning

First Plan

I planned to put some plants in the second room. But I found that it would be more contrastive if I don't do so.

I was planning on making a more convenient moving keyboard function (where the "moving forward" key would be actually "moving forward" even if you turn to another direction) , tried to write the code but did not get the expected result. The sound part as well. I tried my best to adjust the sound properties including spatial blend (audio parameters) but the output did not work as what I intended. The sound sources are not as distinguishable in the second room.
In the near future, I would try to make the environment more immersive and more enjoyable. The objects would suit the room better and the moving functions would be more convenient as well. I think this would be much more immersive if it is made into VR. The audience would be "trained" in an immersive way. When it's made into VR, the audience could get closer to the small details and observe the second room. They would feel like that they are actually trapped in an environment.

I tried to use Meshmixer to sculpt my own objects. It was quite difficult but interesting at the same time.

Stone made in Meshmixer

Spiderweb I drew

I made the stone models. I also created the spider web texture.

Materials and models from other authors

The bull skull and the spiders models are from unity asset store. The textures listed above that are not pure colors are from the store as well. The sounds are also from the store.