Introduction

Background

This story depicts the life journey of a tree, from a seed to a towering tree, through the use of VR technology that allows the player to experience it from the tree’s perspective. These trees experiences countless day and night cycles and seasonal changes, some growing into centennial trees, while others dying due to natural disasters such as snow or fire. However, behind the tree’s death, there lie countless new lives and hopes. We introduced the concept of the “tree network,” which we believe represents the exchange and cycle of life. When a tree dies, its body returns to the earth and becomes a source of nutrition for millions of bacteria, insects, plants, and other organisms, injecting new vitality into the ecosystem.

In the story, the player experiences the seasonal changes and sees various forms of life in the forest, becoming the mother tree of the forest. Eventually, the tree dies in a forest fire, but before its death, it transfers its nutrition to other small trees in the forest through the tree network, allowing the player to experience the cycle and exchange of life. At the end of the story, the player is reborn on a small tree that has received the nutrition from the giant tree, becoming a new life. Through the use of VR technology, the player can immerse themselves in the connections and cycles of life, allowing them to better understand and appreciate the natural ecosystem.

The significance behind this story is to emphasize the continuation and inheritance of life. Trees represent the continuation of life, and their growth process highlights the complexity of interconnectivity between all things. Through the “tree network” concept, we emphasize the interdependence and interactive relationship between all things, as well as the unending cycle of life. Only by understanding the cycle of life and interdependence between all living beings can one fully appreciate the meaning behind the continuation and inheritance of life.

Wood Wide Web（Mycorrhizal network）

Mycorrhizal networks are intricate underground structures that are present in forests and other plant communities. They are formed through the interweaving of hyphae from mycorrhizal fungi with plant roots, creating a common mycorrhizal network (CMN). These networks enable the transfer of vital resources, such as water, carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients and minerals, between connected plants. Scientific research has shown that mycorrhizal networks play a significant role in nutrient transport within ecosystems(Yuan Yuansong ,2015). Evidence that mycorrhizal fungal mycelia can link plants together in a network, and that this mycorrhizal network (MN) can facilitate fungal colonization or interplant transfer of compounds (Suzanne W. Simard a, Kevin J. Beiler b, Marcus A. Bingham a, Julie R. Deslippe c, Leanne J. Philip d, François P. Teste e 2012.).

Storyboard ： vision，Interaction, And Sounds

Click on the link to view：

Vision

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NL8X9pe7b3pm9L8X6YRv2nq0pACQ6yUOT4ZK-qC92y8/edit?usp=sharing

Sounds

https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/dmsp-presence23/2023/03/22/sound-design-storyboard-cues/

Project Aims and Objectives

This project aims to create a virtual presence space from both vision and sound perspectives, which finally decided to use the tree-growing view to let players participate in the project and recreate a role in the virtual environment to experience and sense. In this project, the players could wear the VR device to see and control via the remote around the digital forest.
Specifically, this project aims to achieve the effects of presence, which provide a visual change for players to see from a tree’s view by the multiple seasons with diverse plants growing, animal animations, numerous visual effects with timeline alter, story transition and vivid sound effects.

Deliverables and Criteria

Interactions with VR
The players play a prominent role in the scene story. For instance, they could use controllers to modify the height of the tree, evoke the animals’ movements, and activate the story to continue. This project provides players with the option to trigger time and decisions via themselves and evoke the rest of the story.

Experienced the tree’s growing life and being present in the forest
This project provides a unique perspective to describe a story stance for players as one plant from virtual “birth” to “death” with time and natural decay—the entire storyline is designed for momentous natural events such as seasons from both time and space dimensions. The project created a unique storyline that provides an outstanding experience for players to sense nature and be involved with a surprise.

Visual and Sound
Visuals and sound assist this project in creating an immersive space with precise creation results to guide players to participate in the story from a virtual space. This project provides the comprehensible achievements for the virtual dimensions to build the space to describe the story to players.

Research

Our research aims to investigate the effects of environment, narrative, time, virtual effects, and sound on immersive experiences, and to discuss the concepts of presence and absence (prence and upsence).

Click to view more：

https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/dmsp-presence23/2023/04/26/learning-about-concept-of-presence/

visual design

The following is a description of the work carried out by our virtual visualization department, outlining the process involved in creating 3D models, texture mapping, and assembling an overall scene. The text also touches on the creation of animations and the use of particle systems to add special effects to our scenes. Our team employs a range of software packages, including Maya, ZBrush, Blender, Photoshop, and Unity. This integrated workflow allows us to achieve a higher level of detail and realism in our models and introduce greater complexity and depth to our scenes.

3D Models, Materails, Scene

3D Model Production Process

Model Material Production And Shader Application

 Module, Post-Processing And LOD Techniques In-game Scene Design

Animation

Transfer Nutrition

Animals Skeleton Rigging And Animation

Special vitsual effects

The author created three types of particle effects (fire, snow, and rain) using Adobe Illustrator and Unity software, adjusting various conditions such as emissions, shapes, and velocities over a lifetime to achieve realistic effects for each type of particle.

Click here to view more

Making of Seasons

We improved the project by addressing issues with the multiple seasons display and confusing storyline. We
created detailed flowers and plants in Blender and added multiple shape keys and animations to guide players and improve immersion in the virtual space. The plants were then exported to Unity and controlled using the animator controller to trigger their animations.

Click here to view more

Sound Design

Sound Design Thoughts and Ideas

After reading the story board, we decided to follow the realstic style to deal with the sound part. We made a sound design storyboard cues and listed everything we may need to serve as a plan for each stage. It takes a more linear and rigid approach that more closely follows the cues in the storyboard. Having a solid idea of what each stage needs and how it should sound will prove very useful when it comes to deciding what sounds are needed for the project, gathering and organising them, and as something to refer back to when crafting the soundscape in Wwise.

Pre-recoording
Foley
Music part for sound
Building up Wwise project
C# Code part to get in to Unity.

Interaction

Our interactions consist of two forms: virtual interactions and physical interactions. Virtual interactions include camera movements, day and night changes, seasonal changes, and animal interactions. Physical interactions mainly consist of tactile and olfactory experiences.

Physical interaction

Hardware: VR Equipment and Connection

We conducted a screening process for multiple VR devices, considering factors such as technical specifications, user experience, and development difficulty. We chose a device that could support the interaction forms in our project and meet our requirements for performance and reliability. After careful comparison and testing, we ultimately selected a certain brand of VR device to implement our project.

Click here to view more

The Exhibition

We redesigned the exhibition layout based on feedback, using four-sided screens to play game scenes or animations and creating a natural atmosphere with greenery, aroma diffusers, and ambient sounds to enhance audience immersion and entertainment during wait times.

Click here to view more

Audience Feedback

Overall, the feedback for this project is that it fulfils with superior vision and sound effects. Participants did the achievable virtual exploration with VR devices. Meanwhile, some suggestions came from participators for this project.
1. More clear visual effects help participators understand the story slightly more. For instance, add branches growing together when the tree growing. It would be better to see the tree’s stem and roots as the player’s location moves.
2. More interactions and options could be made for the participators, such as the option to lower height rather than just lift the remote for the tree growth; participators’ movements could build relative impacts on the VR’s movement in virtual space.
3. Details could be improved, for instance, the flying bird flying direction and the particles’ movement speed.

Project Reflections

Xinyue Lin

David Mainland

XiYue Huang

Yiran Wang

RunYao Li

KunKun Wang

Course Reflection Amber Zhang

Apr 27, 2023

 

Firstly, during the process of determining the project’s concept, there were intense intellectual collisions among team members. To some extent, these collisions were beneficial as they helped us discover new ideas and perspectives. However, excessive debate led to our inability to quickly establish a clear direction, which in turn affected the project’s progress in later stages. In future projects, we need to balance creative discussions and decision-making more effectively to maintain innovation while ensuring the smooth progress of the project.

Secondly, we encountered issues with team member allocation. Since the project involved various skills and knowledge, some team members lacked expertise in certain areas, causing the project to progress slowly. To address this issue, we need to assign tasks more explicitly at the beginning of the project, ensuring that each member can contribute in their area of expertise. Additionally, we can help team members improve their abilities in relevant fields through training and skill enhancement.

Communication deficiency was another issue our team faced during the project. Due to a lack of effective communication, we experienced work duplication and wasted effort. To improve team collaboration, we need to establish clear communication mechanisms and frequency at the beginning of the project, ensuring that team members can share information promptly and avoid work duplication and resource waste.

Lastly, one of the challenges we faced was the limitations of VR technology. The VR devices we used had limitations in terms of resolution and rendering speed, which affected the game’s smoothness and playability. In future projects, we should pay more attention to technology research and development, seeking solutions to overcome these limitations.

Lastly, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our professor, Leo, for his dedication and support in our project. His guidance and assistance enabled us to complete the project and learn a lot during the development process.

I would also like to thank my team members. First of all, XiYue Huang and QianDai Sun, who always fought alongside me and provided me with help and support. Additionally, I want to express my gratitude to Amber Zhang, who acted as a bridge between us and the teacher during the S1 group project. She taught me a lot, such as how to handle emotions and communicate with others in a timely manner. Furthermore, I want to thank the SD classmates, Runyao Li, Kunkun Wang, Yiran Wang, and David Mainland, for their cooperation, which made the entire project even more perfect. I would like to give special thanks to David, who is truly a thoughtful person. Thanks to him, I gained confidence in speaking English.

Apr 27, 2023

Based on feedback, we have redesigned the exhibition layout. With only one device available, audiences experience long wait times. To alleviate potential boredom during this wait, we have decided to use four-sided screens to surround the entire exhibition space and play game scenes or animations for the audience to watch. This not only stimulates audience interest, but also provides entertainment during the wait.
To immerse audiences into the game environment from the moment they step into the exhibition space, we will place greenery around the exhibition area to create a natural atmosphere. Additionally, we will use aroma diffusers to add forest scents and play forest ambient sounds, allowing audiences to experience the game environment from a visual, auditory, and olfactory perspective. Through these designs, we aim to enhance audience game experiences and immersion.

Apr 27, 2023

Modular

I have utilized a modular approach to construct scenes, incorporating objects such as trees, rocks, and other elements. Initially, I created a series of one to three models, each possessing unique forms. These models were then transformed through the modification of their size, aspect ratios, rotations, and other similar variables, resulting in a diverse array of models. This methodology significantly increases the efficiency of scene creation and amplifies the complexity of details incorporated within the scene, rendering it more multifaceted and visually engaging. This modular approach further enables the prompt implementation of updates and modifications to the scene, thereby augmenting its versatility and maintainability.

Lod

I have used LOD to optimize rendering performance and improve the game performance by using simplified models or materials for objects that are far away from the camera. To achieve this, I first created three different detail levels of tree models in Blender. Then, in the Unity scene, I created a LOD Group component and attached the different detail levels of models to the component. Finally, I adjusted the distances between the different levels of detail according to the object’s distance from the camera. By doing so, Unity will automatically switch to an appropriate level of detail for each object, based on the distance between the object and the camera, which helps to optimize performance without sacrificing visual quality.

Lighting：Post-Process

I used post-processing effects, such as color correction, depth of field, motion blur, and ambient occlusion, to add various visual enhancements to the game scene. I also adjusted the color correction parameters, such as saturation, brightness, and contrast, to enhance the scene’s lighting and improve the game’s immersion and player experience. However, due to compatibility issues with VR, I ultimately decided to abandon the use of post-processing effects. Specifically, VR cameras cannot choose to render through post-processing effects, and rendering through post-processing effects may also affect the game’s performance and stability. Therefore, I decided not to use post-processing effects in VR mode to ensure the game’s smoothness and stability in VR.

 

 

Apr 26, 2023

Background

This story depicts the life journey of a tree, from a seed to a towering tree, through the use of VR technology that allows the player to experience it from the tree’s perspective. These trees experiences countless day and night cycles and seasonal changes, some growing into centennial trees, while others dying due to natural disasters such as snow or fire. However, behind the tree’s death, there lie countless new lives and hopes. We introduced the concept of the “tree network,” which we believe represents the exchange and cycle of life. When a tree dies, its body returns to the earth and becomes a source of nutrition for millions of bacteria, insects, plants, and other organisms, injecting new vitality into the ecosystem.

In the story, the player experiences the seasonal changes and sees various forms of life in the forest, becoming the mother tree of the forest. Eventually, the tree dies in a forest fire, but before its death, it transfers its nutrition to other small trees in the forest through the tree network, allowing the player to experience the cycle and exchange of life. At the end of the story, the player is reborn on a small tree that has received the nutrition from the giant tree, becoming a new life. Through the use of VR technology, the player can immerse themselves in the connections and cycles of life, allowing them to better understand and appreciate the natural ecosystem.

The significance behind this story is to emphasize the continuation and inheritance of life. Trees represent the continuation of life, and their growth process highlights the complexity of interconnectivity between all things. Through the “tree network” concept, we emphasize the interdependence and interactive relationship between all things, as well as the unending cycle of life. Only by understanding the cycle of life and interdependence between all living beings can one fully appreciate the meaning behind the continuation and inheritance of life.

Wood Wide Web（Mycorrhizal network）

Mycorrhizal networks are intricate underground structures that are present in forests and other plant communities. They are formed through the interweaving of hyphae from mycorrhizal fungi with plant roots, creating a common mycorrhizal network (CMN). These networks enable the transfer of vital resources, such as water, carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients and minerals, between connected plants. Scientific research has shown that mycorrhizal networks play a significant role in nutrient transport within ecosystems(Yuan Yuansong ,2015). Evidence that mycorrhizal fungal mycelia can link plants together in a network, and that this mycorrhizal network (MN) can facilitate fungal colonization or interplant transfer of compounds (Suzanne W. Simard a, Kevin J. Beiler b, Marcus A. Bingham a, Julie R. Deslippe c, Leanne J. Philip d, François P. Teste e 2012.).

Apr 25, 2023

I performed UV unwrapping on a 3D model in Maya and subsequently imported it into Substance Painter software to facilitate texture map creation. By utilizing the smart brush tool, I was able to paint and modify the textures, resulting in a material that is not only more realistic and lively, but also offers improved control over texture details and aesthetics.

The use of shaders

standard surface shader

I have implemented a custom surface shader in Unity that creates a basic transparent material, allowing for texturing with the _MainTex parameter and adjustment of transparency. The shader is set to render in transparent cutout mode, which clips out the transparent areas of the material and only displays the opaque regions. Additionally, this shader uses the Lambert lighting model and supports shadows from all types of light sources, achieving more realistic lighting for each pixel. This code has been applied to objects such as tree leaves, bushes, flowers, mushrooms, and other foliage in the scene, resulting in improved visual quality.

Shader Graph：The effect of tree leaves moving with the wind.

This code segment implements wind blowing and shaking effects on tree leaves using Shader Graph, including vertex animation and UV animation. Firstly, texture and color properties are added to the material, and double-sided rendering is enabled. The overall displacement of the tree leaves and the shaking of each leaf’s texture are achieved through node connections, where vertex displacement is implemented by sampling simple noise and adding a continuous changing offset. The size and direction of vertex displacement are controlled by adding wind direction, wind speed, and wind strength parameters. The shaking of leaf texture is achieved by sampling simple noise and adding a continuous changing UV offset, where the amplitude of the shaking is controlled by adding the wind speed parameter. Finally, the nodes are organized and saved to achieve the effect of wind blowing and shaking tree leaves.

Click the link to view the effect：https://youtu.be/NnMwJBNFO8g

Node： Texture

This node implementation facilitates the application of texture and color mapping on the material of the tree leaves, while also implementing advanced features such as double-sided rendering, alpha culling, and the blending of texture and color properties, resulting in the successful depiction of the tree leaves’ shape. By incorporating a texture 2D and color property, developers can gain control over the tree leaves’ texture and color, and by utilizing the node connection method present in Shader Graph, the texture and color can be effectively blended, and various parameters – including alpha culling and smoothness – can be fine-tuned to produce the desired outcome.

Node：Wind blowing leaves effect

This node implementation enables the effect of wind blowing and shaking tree leaves, consisting of two parts: vertex animation for overall displacement of the leaves, and UV animation for the shaking of each leaf’s texture. The vertex animation involves adding the vertex displacement to the vertex position to move the tree leaves as a whole, using the XZ of the vertex’s world coordinates as UV, and adding a continuously changing offset. A noise map is then sampled to obtain the vertex displacement in world space. The UV animation is achieved by using the XZ of the vertex’s world coordinates as UV, adding wind direction multiplied by wind speed and time, to obtain a continuous changing offset, thus creating the shaking effect of each leaf’s texture. Finally, the vertex offset is added to the vertex’s world space position, and the vertex’s world space position is transformed into object space using a transform node to achieve the effect of wind blowing and shaking tree leaves.

Node： leaf texture dithering effect

This piece of code utilizes simple noise and rotation nodes to create a jitter effect on the texture of the leaves. Specifically, the implementation involves multiplying the output of the noise node by the rotation amplitude, and then connecting the rotated UV coordinates to the texture node, resulting in the jitter effect on the leaf texture. The amplitude of the jitter effect is controlled by the wind speed, where the value of wind speed determines the strength of the jitter effect, and can be adjusted to control its intensity.

Shader： Grass

The paragraph describes modifications made to a shader used for rendering grass in a scene. The modifications include removing the wiggleOffset float variable, which enables the grass blades to sway within a range of negative and positive values, and adding two color properties, namely Top Color and Bottom Color, to the shader. The Vertex Color node is used to control the color transition. Additionally, a Main Light node is created by multiplying the Shadow Attenuation and Self Shadowing nodes, which respectively represent the grass’s own shadow and shadows cast by other objects. The resulting color is connected to a Sample Gradient node, which is adjusted to a half-deep green and half-black gradient. Another Sample Noise node is added and modified to a half-black and half-white gradient, which is used to mask the grass color and add to the shadow color. The final result is used as the base color for the grass, enhancing its lighting and color and creating a more realistic and visually appealing effect.

Node：MainLight

The Main Light subgraph is used to extract information about the main light source in a game scene, such as direction, color, intensity, range, and more. In game scenes, it is necessary to calculate lighting and shadows for objects based on the direction, position, and color information of the main light source. Therefore, the Main Light subgraph also includes a shadow map sampling node to extract shadow information from the scene’s shadow map for rendering and projecting shadows onto objects in the scene. The Main Light subgraph allows for convenient access to information about the main light source, resulting in more realistic lighting and shadow effects in the scene.

Apr 25, 2023

Software： Maya, Zbrush, Blender.

Throughout the process of creating my models, I employed a combination of software packages, including Maya, ZBrush, and Blender. This integrated workflow allowed me to achieve higher levels of detail and realism in my models and to introduce more complexity and depth to my scenes.

After generating a basic stone model in Maya, I imported it into ZBrush to facilitate more detailed sculpting. I utilized a variety of brush tools to add texture and complexity to the model. For instances where twisted shapes were required for tree trunks and branches, I leveraged ZBrush’s ZSphere tool to define the direction of the branches before further refining their contours through brushwork. This approach offered greater flexibility and control over the final form of the branches and trunks and allowed me to add more texture and visual interest.

Furthermore, I utilized Blender to craft grass and other organic elements, including basic tree trunks. These models were incorporated into my scenes as environmental components, contributing to a more realistic and immersive setting. By enriching the overall composition with multiple layers of detail, I was able to heighten the visual impact of my work and provide a more engaging experience for viewers.

Trunk

I employed the Sapling Tree Gen plugin, which is Blender’s default tool for generating trees, to create basic tree trunks with regular shapes. By manipulating various parameters within the plugin’s options, including the height, radius, and taper of the trunk, I was able to generate tree trunks of varying shapes. Furthermore, I had the ability to modify the number and thickness of branches, as well as their distribution along the trunk, to achieve my desired results.

Leaf

To create a realistic leaf model in Blender, three small square planes with dimensions of 0.5 x 0.5 are utilized. These planes are combined to create the shape of a single leaf. To apply the leaf model onto a pre-made surface, Blender’s particle system is utilized.

By rendering the leaf planes as objects in the particle system, we can apply them to the surface of the model as a particle system. To do this, we select the “hair” option in the particle system and set the rendering mode to “object”. We then choose the previously created leaf planes as the instance object. This allows the leaf planes to be applied to the surface of the model in a particle form.

Additionally, different parts of the leaf model can be customized by adjusting the particle system settings such as random numbers, random number seeds, and particle quantity. This customization feature allows for the creation of diverse leaf patterns on the model surface, adding to the overall realism of the model.

Finally, I utilized Photoshop to create a high-quality material texture for them. The created texture was then imported into Blender, where I utilized shaders to apply it to the tree leaves. To create a more intricate material, I made use of Blender’s built-in node editor, adjusting the properties of the nodes to achieve a more captivating and lifelike appearance of the tree leaves, resulting in an overall more vibrant and realistic model.

Low Poly Animals

I utilize the LowPoly style to craft animals within my scenes. The unique aesthetic of LowPoly style prioritizes the significance of shapes and lines, as opposed to an excessive focus on details. I think this approach can assist in preventing the scene from becoming excessively chaotic or cluttered.

Apr 25, 2023