Searching Spaces

A game where each side of a cube contains a small world, some hiding special objects to discover. Rotate and scale every detail using hand tracking in mixed reality.

Inspiration

Searching Spaces was inspired by the idea of turning a digital application into something that feels more like a physical toy. By allowing the game to exist within the player’s physical environment, the project explores how mixed reality can enhance a sense of presence and wonder.

What it does

The game is built around searching for hidden objects and, in later stages, identifying differences across multiple miniature worlds placed on the faces of a cube. Each face represents a unique environment. Players rotate, move, and resize the cube in space to examine these worlds from different perspectives. Progress relies on observation and exploration rather than speed, encouraging players to engage with the environments thoughtfully and playfully.

How we built it

A key part of development involved implementing and refining hand tracking to ensure natural and responsive interaction. Considerable effort went into smoothing gestures and making cube manipulation intuitive. In a later update, the scenes were redesigned and mixed reality was integrated, anchoring the cube into the player’s real space and strengthening the feeling of interacting with a tangible object.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was enabling smooth and comfortable zooming toward small, detailed objects without breaking immersion. Performance optimization was another major concern, as multiple detailed worlds needed to be rendered simultaneously while maintaining stable frame rates.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I am especially proud of the visual consistency of the project and the final “magical toy” feeling achieved after implementing mixed reality. The cube feels cohesive, playful, and naturally integrated into the real environment.