Tomorrow's Echoes

Tsitenha Helmet in Tomorrow’s Echoes
Screenshot of Tomorrow’s Echoes in Meta Horizon Desktop Editor
Mysterious Droid Tile quietly sitting in Tomorrow’s Echoes as part of a future puzzle with Kanien’kéha numbers.
Tomorrow’s Echoes Flow Chart

Inspiration

My inspiration stems from a deep desire support Kanien'kehá (Mohawk Language) Revival & Retention with today's technology options. I wanted to create an intellectual stimulating adventure, offering players a unique opportunity to explore a world infused with authentic Kanien'kéha and storytelling. The concept of hidden portals and futuristic realms allows us to bridge the past and future, creating a truly unique exploration experience.

What it does

Players can explore the small forest and find Kanien’kéha Number cubes, mysterious droid tiles and a Tsitenha Helmet (Bird Helmet) they can try on for fun. Grabbing the Kanien’kéha Number cubes allows players to hear how to pronounce each number with the Akwesasne Kanien’kéha dialect. Learning how to read, write and speak Kanien’kéha Numbers helps folks living in Haudenosaunee communities when they are practicing for exams and preparing to learn more advanced Kanien’kéha skills. Friends of Haudenosaunee sometimes like to learn how to speak Kanien’kéha too :)

How I built it

This world was meticulously crafted using a combination of tools. I began by modeling key assets like the modular longhouse elements with Autodesk Maya and Adobe Substance Painter. I modeled objects and environmental elements in Blender, ensuring they reflected the intended aesthetic. Hunyuan3D was used for generating some of the 3D models and materials, because I also enjoy developing AI Generated content. The core game logic and interactive elements were built within Meta Horizon Worlds Creator, leveraging its scripting and world-building capabilities. The integration of custom game ready 3D art and materials was one key focus, aiming for a visually engaging experience that integrated with my custom game scripts.

Challenges I ran into

My url links for the Video Demo (facebook livestream) and to the Meta Horizon World Experience were throwing errors so I had to quickly duplicate them to share the Video Demo on YouTube instead of the Facebook LiveStream and I had to rename my original Meta Horizon World submission > then duplicate it to have the original name > then resubmit that for this application. It was a fairly quick process but a certainly gave myself a little bit of anxiety regarding meeting project deadlines.

Kanien’kéha text characters often create errors when they are in file names, in typescript, the user interface, etc so I had to put alot of extra time into testing and verifying each Kanien’kéha text because it’s important to include the proper Kanien’kéha text characters so that it is read and pronounced properly by both new speakers and fluent speakers. Fluent speakers with expert knowledge of Kanien’kéha dialects recognize each character as a very specific pronunciation that is very different from analytic languages such as English, French, Spanish, etc. When a Kanien’kéha text character such as accent, glottal stop marker, etc is missing or not allowed - it will completely change the pronunciation and the meaning of the Kanien’kéha word or phrase. Kanien’kéha is a polysynthetic language and the non english language characters are extremely important in digital environments where new speakers visit with hopes of learning how to pronounce and recognize Kanien’keha. Another challenge is that many new people do not know we have more than one dialect of Kanien’kéha and educating new folks about all the dialect differences & similarities requires much more space, time, resources and explanations than what we can provide with a human friendly user interface created in a very short time.

Ensuring my custom 3D materials functioned correctly within Horizon Worlds. Initially, material compatibility issues resulted in a work block. Through experimentation with different export settings, texture formats, 3D production software and shader adjustments, I was able to create a stable, fast, optimized production pipeline with Krita and my Huion Drawing Tablet to design my 2D visuals. I used Hunyuan3D to generate 3D mesh & material with my 2D as input prompt. I used Blender to convert my 3D mesh and material to an FBX file that is compatible with Meta Horizon Worlds Creator. Finding my ideal production pipeline was a process that involved a lot of trial and error with more 3D production software than I mention here, but ultimately led to a deeper understanding of how to get my own personal work flow preferences to work in an optimized way with Horizon Worlds Creator to create exciting new worlds that have my own visual aesthetics.

Accomplishments that I’m proud of

An accomplishment was the successful integration of authentic Kanien'kéha audio recordings for interactive elements while successfully navigating the complexities of quickly learning Meta Horizon Worlds Desktop Editor features to build a new world.

What I learned

I learned how to integrate the AudioGizmo, CustomUI and Camera for mobile, web and vr.

What's next for Tomorrow's Echoes

REFINE NPC AI: Implement more sophisticated AI for NPCs, allowing them to react dynamically to player actions and provide more engaging interactions. It might be useful for players that are preparing to learn and communicate with more advanced Kanien’kéha skills such as forming complete stories of their own without having to memorize a billion variations. Maybe I can use my small language models that I developed in the past for specific Kanien’kéha dialects and domains.
EXPAND THE FUTURISTIC REALM: Add more of my own environment objects and non-human characters to the futuristic realm, creating a richer and more immersive experience.
IMPROVE VISUAL FIDELITY: Further optimize textures and lighting to enhance the overall visual quality of the world.
ADD PUZZLES ON CUSTOM UI: Create more involved puzzles building on the original Kanien’kéha Numbers to require players dedicate more time into listening & practicing speaking the Kanien’kéha Numbers with their own voices. Intention is to increase players ability to remember each of the Kanien’kéha numbers’ spelling, sounds and how to speak them.
IMPLEMENT MULTIPLAYER ENHANCEMENTS: Refine the multiplayer experience for more seamless collaboration options and communication between players.
COMMISSION CUSTOM MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN: If funding permits, I will commission original sound Haudenosaunee sound design (horn rattles, guitar, song) to elevate the atmosphere and immersion of the game.
HIRE FLUENT KANIEN’KÉHA LANGUAGE CONSULTANT: I prefer to collaborate with one or more fluent speakers for each of our dialects (Eastern, Central, Western Kanien’kéha dialects) to help with the language used in this new world. It’s important for new speakers to understand the dialect differences regarding pronunciaton, alphabet and the origins / history of why we have so many dialects.