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In this group assignment, I gained a lot and learned a lot of new knowledge. The part I am mainly responsible for is the animation of transfer nutrition, physical interaction and VR device connection.
Among them, I think the most time-consuming part is the connection of VR devices. Since our VR headsets have been changed three times, from Oculus Quest to Oculus Rift, due to the RAM problem of the computer, we have changed three computers successively. This resulted in a reconfiguration every time the device was connected, which took us about two weeks.
Secondly, I also learned a lot of new Unity functions, such as how to use the particle system to animate the growth of tree roots, how to use Shader Graphs to make illuminants, how to adjust the animation of small animal models in Unity, and so on.
From the perspective of teamwork, I think our team’s previous cooperation has been good, but it may be that there is a lack of time control over the progress, resulting in some tasks being carried out very slowly, which caused some confusion in the division of labor at the end. But it also taught me a lot, such as how to get along with team members, how to express my ideas accurately, how to communicate efficiently with others, etc.
In general, I am very grateful for this opportunity to work with classmates from different majors and backgrounds. This is a valuable learning experience, and I will continue to grow and develop in my future work and life.
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.).
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After this group practice, we gained a deep appreciation of the fun and difficulty of working together across disciplines. There was a lot of discussion and bonding, and we drew up solutions over and over again, overturning and starting over again. Each time we were able to respond positively and come up with reasonable solutions, and we are very grateful to be part of the group.
I was the sound part in the process of working with everyone. It was relatively passive. A lot of preparation was done in the early stages, but due to poor timing, a lot of our work was delayed. We should pay more attention to this problem in the future during our study work and intersperse a project as much as possible.
The teachers gave us a lot of valuable advice and we are very grateful to the professors for their guidance. During exhibitions, a more hermetic headset needs to be chosen to allow the player to be more immersed in the game world. During rainy scenes, a fan could be prepared to spray water next to it to set up some interactive scenes. When there is a fire, we need to bring in the element of fire, we can use candles to build the scene, again with an immersive feel. And we need to set up some sound cues in each scene so that the player can follow the in-game sound cues and explore, rather than us guiding them. And as the player grows taller and his vision changes, he needs some cues to let himself know that he is a tree. Some specific sounds of small animals are also needed.
Many thanks to Leo for his careful guidance, accompanying us through meeting after meeting, patiently suggesting changes to us, teaching us many professional knowledge and skills, and accompanying us through many memorable nights doing homework. Thanks so much to everyone for their hard work.
Overall, I was incredibly happy with how the project turned out and I had a lot of fun during the process. Everyone was very nice and everyone chipped in equally to create the final product.
On the sound side of things, I am generally very pleased with the end result. I do think however, that there are some things I personally could have done, or done better, to make the final product a little more polished.
Giving more consideration to the spacialisation of sounds is one thing I definitely think I should have done, as most sounds aren’t spacialised. I think it really could have added a lot to the player’s sense of space within the world, and could have been a great opportunity for some interesting and creative sound design.
Secondly, I feel as though the hierarchy I made initially was not suited to the more linear nature that the experience ended up having. I think this was caused by two factors. Firstly, my previous experience using Wwise in Interactive Sound Environments, and perhaps not corresponding with the design team as much as I should have.
Overall though, I am very happy with the project. I want to thank everyone in the group for working so hard and making it a really fun project to be a part of. I’d also like to thank Leo for all of his help. Regardless of whether it was early in the morning or later on in the evening, weekday or weekend, he was always just a Teams message away.
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.
VR and game development are two things that I have always been passionate about and have wanted to try my hand at. Being able to be part of the presence group and participate in game development and production is a thrilling prospect.
I am delighted to have created such a sound work. The sound design process involved discussing the design, pre-recording, foley, audio editing, music production, Wwise, and C#, which gradually enriched the content and ultimately formed a complete work. I am proud to have been involved in every step of the creative process and to have witnessed its growth.
Throughout this journey, I learned a lot. The pre-recording and foley process allowed me to better understand the details of environmental sound. Brainstorming Foley methods for sounds like bird flapping wings, rain, and fire enhanced my creativity and imagination for sound creation and production. Creating music that matches the visuals increased my experience in music composition and confidence in music creation. Lastly, using Wwise and C# to set up sound helped me gain familiarity with coding and game sound development, which enhanced my personal sound design abilities from multiple aspects.
However, there are several areas that I believe could be improved. First, better time allocation would allow us to complete the connection between Wwise and Unity more thoroughly and calmly and add more rich sound content and more detailed sound effects. Second, a richer sound library would provide more usable sound effects in the random playback of sounds in Wwise, creating a more vivid, realistic, and rich forest environment.
Finally, I am grateful to every member of the team for their efforts in this project.I will cherish these memories of working late into the night. I am also thankful to Professor Jules for providing valuable feedback on our proposals and to our tutor, Leo, for their patient guidance and great help in making C# run smoothly.
After the exhibition, I am thinking about what can be improved during the process of the whole project.
What I learned from the project:
Because I am mainly responsible for the integration of unity and Wwise projects using C# script, after the project, I’m glad that I’m more familiar with the code. Also, I never learned composing before, but this time I tried to make some music and I have learned more advanced implements and operations in Wwise.
What we can improve:
The first thing I think we can improve is about the time management. It took more than a month from our first discussion to finalizing and starting to work. This made us a little bit scrambled in the final stages because of the time management.
For the Wwise project, I think maybe more creative works could be done.
However, I want to thank all our team members. Especially our sound design friends, we spent many unforgettable nights together, for example, at 1am the day before the exhibition, we were rushing to do Wwise project in Alison house and were driven away by the security guards. And also our tutor Leo, he is so patient and so kind and helped us a lot. Without him, we can’t make the project so completed.
When making music, I decided to follow the storyline. When the tree is growing and at the experiencing stage, the music is soft and light. This style of music is designed to make players feel relaxed, because the scenes are also relatively healing.
2. The second part of the music is for the fire part. When the tree is burns and gradually dies, the background music is a piece of tragic and sad melody. After that we will add some synthesizer sound effects according to the fire scene.
3. Music of the big tree transferring energy
(1) The third part of music is used for the reborn part. Based on the principle of the “Wood Wide Web”. When a tree is dying, it passes its nutrients to other trees through its underground root system. So basically their cores are same. So the third music has the similar melody but with another instrument.
(2) Haunting Melody: The growth of plants in the forest creates many different sounds, such as the friction of tree trunks and the trembling of branches and leaves. These sounds form a haunting melody, as if telling the story of the forest’s vitality.
Layers of Sound: In the dark forest, the layers of sound are very complex. Some sounds are clear and distinct, such as the chirping of birds. Here, some dreamy bell sounds are used to convey this. Others are indistinct, like the sound of plants growing. This complex layering of sound makes the listener feel as if they are in an abstract dream.
Exotic Flavor: Sometimes, the sounds of growth in the dark forest have an exotic flavor. Here, the environment of the African savannah is used, mixing African drums and ancient chanting to give a mysterious and sacred feeling.
Implying Atmosphere: In the sounds of growth in the dark forest, there may also be some suggestive atmosphere, like predicting the arrival of some mysterious power. For example, our tree network, where tree roots transmit energy, makes people feel a sense of inexplicable tension and excitement.
4. Ending music
The ending music is composed by piano and cello, also is a soft, relaxing major melody.
This music begins with an isolated large tree in a desolate and uninhabited area, only stirred by a gentle breeze. As the melody gradually intensifies, the tree begins to reveal its vibrant vitality, and its branches and leaves start to bud and grow, transmitting the energy of life to the surrounding small trees and grasses.
These surrounding plants begin to awaken gradually, and their weak life force expands gradually, gradually forming a forest. The melody also gradually becomes stronger and more powerful as the energy is transmitted and the surrounding plants revive, carrying with it hope and vitality.
In such music, a lot of vivid sounds can be used to depict such a scene. Here, the sound of piano and cello is used, and as the melody strengthens, these sounds become more complex and rich, evoking the cycles of life, just like the endless evolution and evolution of life.
5. Background music
Natural: The forest’s music typically comprises natural and organic sounds, such as the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, and the trickling of water, among other natural elements. It produces a calming and soothing sound that brings peace to one’s mind.
Rhythmic: Depending on the location of the forest, there might be rhythmic sounds of animals or insects like crickets or frogs that establish a steady rhythm. This can give the impression of the forest having its own pulse or heartbeat.
Ethereal: The music in the forest can have an ethereal quality, occasionally, with distant sounds reverberating through the trees like birds singing afar or a waterfall cascading down a rocky outcrop. This creates a mystical and dreamy atmosphere.
Melodic: The forest also acts as a source of melodic music, with birdsong and wind chimes producing a pleasing harmony. The sounds of diverse creatures coming together can generate a unique symphony where every species adds its distinct melody to the blend.
Ambient: In general, the music in a forest can be categorized as ambient since it creates an all-encompassing, natural soundscape that envelops the listener. It can be either calming or refreshing, depending on the individual’s disposition and the time of day.
