Forgotten Legacy

environment
translator
seed
spider attack
sword

Inspiration -

Initially, our idea was to develop an escape room game. However, as we brainstormed further, we decided to create an immersive puzzle adventure game instead. Dubbed Forgotten Legacy, this game combines narrative storytelling with action-packed puzzles to stimulate your mind and get you moving around the room.

What it does -

The narrative follows a girl who awakens in an unfamiliar location, yet everything seems oddly reminiscent to her. The setting exudes a magical aura, starkly contrasting with her known world. As she traverses through the forest and city to unveil hidden truths, she also embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Players immerse themselves in her perspective, empathizing with her character. They interact with the environment, solving riddles that may lead to various outcomes, some which may be good or bad.

How we built it -

We initiated our project by adhering to a structured pipeline, commencing with ideation, conceptualization, storyboarding, character design and voice, deciding on SFX and VFX, and creating UX architecture before delving into UI design for the experience. Subsequently, we delved into comprehensive research to comprehend and implement various interactions within the game. Leveraging the Unity Game Engine alongside the Meta XR SDK, we integrated mixed reality features into our project and gamified them in alignment with the storyboard.

Challenges we ran into -

Despite encountering numerous bugs during the development process, we persisted in integrating mixed reality and mix it into our reality for the project. We conducted extensive research to ensure consistency in style and devoted extra attention to crafting immersive audio designs. What's truly remarkable is that our teamwork transcended geographical lines—we collaborated remotely from Mumbai, India, and Philly, USA, having never met in person before. Despite our initial status as strangers, our only common point being 'future classmates' brought us together. Throughout the project, we supported each other and synchronized our efforts to keep pace with each other through out the project timeline. In the end, I not only gained a valuable teammate but also a great american friend through this hackathon journey.

Accomplishments that we're proud of -

As incoming students of the School of Cinematic Arts (USC), joining the Interactive Media and Game Design program, we were excited to embark on our journey by creating our first mixed reality game. This project allowed us to navigate the intricacies of spatial design and development, marking our initial foray into the immersive reality industry. Despite facing challenges such as limited access to VR headsets and varying levels of experience, we dedicated ourselves wholeheartedly to this endeavor, striving to imbue our game with as much finesse as possible. Looking ahead, we aim to leverage USC's facilities to further hone our skills and create more compelling games in the future.

What we learned -

During the development of the vertical slice of our game, we came to understand the significance of mixed reality in the realm of extended reality. It's not just about safety; MR has the potential to motivate typically inactive gamers to engage in more physical activity through gameplay. There's still much to uncover about the capabilities of MR, making it a potential game industry breakthrough due to its immersive experiences and realistic movements.

What's next for Forgotten Legacy -

In the original storyboard of Forgotten Legacy, we envisioned multiple levels, and we aspire to realize this vision by developing the entire game with enhanced graphics and 3D art, provided we secure the necessary asset resources. Our main character embarks on a profound journey, encountering numerous monster battles and intricate puzzles and mysteries to solve along the way. At higher levels, our plan is to introduce multiplayer functionality and shared anchors, allowing players to team up with a friend and embark on the adventure together. This addition will enhance engagement and foster a sense of camaraderie as they navigate through the game world side by side. We have already figured out how we'll be using Photon for our multiplayer feature and use shared anchors with it.