Traces

Closeup of the classroom environment, with character model
First view of experience, empty suitcase.
Player teleport inside and shrink down to small object scale.
Closeup of bedroom with Teddy Bear
Closeup of the doorstep environment, with character model
Closeup of the grocery store environment, with character model
Top down view of all the scenes withing the suitcase
Top down view of the suitcase in the ending scene
Ending scene, all the objects are large around the user
Ending Scene, all the objects are large around the user

Inspiration

There are 51 Nationalities represented at Reality Hack.

45 million people in the United States are immigrants. They left their homes, communities, their countries. Many struggle to feel a sense of belonging– the sense that your identity is accepted and celebrated in your community. Without belonging, we feel isolated, conflicted, and unable to participate in society. 1/4 of immigrants face anxiety, depression, and chronic stress. In the next decade, 54 million more people are expected to be displaced and will have to integrate into new cultures and societies. How might we support these people? 80% of our team is immigrants. We combined our stories to create a metaphorical memory box where you can immerse yourself in our .

What it does

Traces is an immersive tool to frame your mindset: to help immigrants feel less alone while giving locals empathy and teaching compassion. It answers three UN Development Goals: mental health, reduced inequality, and peace. You become a 12-year-old who has just moved to the US, and you move through the emotional moments of your new life here. Some folks bully you, others help you – but as you experience each memory, items stick to your body and become part of you. The envelope that denied your father’s visa. The ginger you helped your mother find in the huge American supermarket. After a group of kids steals your backpack, your teacher teaches you that the secret to belonging is helping others – and you help someone else feel at home in their new home.

How we built it

Our tech stack integrates custom 3D models into an A-Frame powered Web VR app that can be streamed onto any headset, anywhere, making the experience accessible to everyone. We built out and lit all the scenes in Blender, exported them to AFrame, and assembled the videos. The character and 3D assets were also built in Blender. The dialogues were all written and recorded at the hackathon, casting people from the team and hackers around us. All the dialogues were then paired to an object. We added music to spark emotion and used lighting to guide the user.

Challenges we ran into

Role setting was a challenge for us as many of our team members had overlap in their skills. We all tried to pitch into the story but the story kept growing, so we ended up assigning story writing to one member, and UI/UX, art direction, development, and asset collection to all other members. Setting Up AFrame for VR, Setting Up the Player in VR, Getting all the assets organized, and Making sure we have music and ambient audio. All the assets were compiled by day 2, but we were in a crunch so we had to implement all of them on day 3. We realized that a smaller scope would have been easier.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're most proud of the story we wrote, the scenes we created, and the emotional storytelling we envisioned. Our VR experience has a unique character and smooth UX for teleportation and grabbing. The experience was built completely from scratch using Blender and Meshy to model objects and environments. We also used 3D prototyping tools like Bezi and ShapesXR.

What we learned

We learned a lot about each other's stories of belonging, of coming to the US and needing a place to stay. We also researched the social and emotional issues that immigrants face, whether it be due to forced immigration or moving by choice- We all felt connected to each other and other immigrants. We felt our experience was more universal than we had realized, and that the dialogue we started can be very impactful. We learned how to create an impactful experience in VR. On the technical side, our team members shared a lot of skills in AFrame, Blender, video editing, script writing, and modeling. We helped each other out with tasks and moved very quickly on day 2. On day 3,

What's next for Traces

This piece will be integrated into a curriculum taught in three contexts: D&I corporate training, College international/transfer student orientations, and High School Freshmen Day. VR’s power is evoking emotion; the curriculum will help players start to practice the skills demonstrated in the piece by being curious about others’ experiences, offering help, and reframing negative experiences to not personalize them – they are universal. For the experience itself, we would like to add special effects, onboarding, and more interactivity, along with visual refinements in the environments.