A Mixed Reality Time Machine
The Accelerator is a time machine into the future of a desolate New York City in 2050 if global warming continues at it's current rate. We helped our client LunaBeck, created by the founder of Local Projects, build and design a demo ready XR experience for NYC climate week using the DreamCube, depicting this future and also how you can change it through a series of interactions and commitments with your future self.
In order to convey the desired emotional impact of the narrative, we collaborated closely with the creative director to design the right interaction. We spearheaded the technical research and development for the mixed reality experience, helping make key decisions on best ways to produce the project. We collaborated with & project managed a team of Unreal Engine Artists, Developers, Musicians and more to make The Accelerator a reality.
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Process & development
Taking the original concept wireframes from the client, we recreated multiple environments in Unreal Engine 5 depicting a "good future" and "bad future". Working with engineers and tech artist, we decided what types of interaction would best produce the effect of someone being able to manipulate the environment, testing with both HTC Vive controllers and ZED - a motion tracking device.
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Experience Design
We considered various scenarios the installation would be in, and developed throughput charts and models to determine the logic of the interaction. Players also converse with an AI chatbot via text messaging, which prompt you to take action steps in your daily life to combat climate change, taking your current field of work into consideration. The logic, as well as the implementation of the messages into the visual part of the experience, took several iterations and revisions to nail down.
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