Former Ocean
A VR environmental education game starring a dolphin — use sonar to sense danger and clues, and cross polluted waters back home. National First Prize winner.
You are a dolphin. Send out a sonar pulse and the echo lights up nearby dangers and interactable objects — both a dolphin’s real sense and the game’s only means of perception. Collect clues through polluted waters, avoid hazards, and swim toward livable seas to return to the “former ocean” of memory. The mechanics are the message: perceive the world the way a dolphin does, and feel what ocean pollution means to the creatures in it. Exhibited at the Chengdu International Software Design & Application Conference and winner of the National First Prize at the China Collegiate Computing Contest.
What I built
VR development on UE4 Blueprints with HTC Vive.
The sonar ability
Sonar logic and visuals — post-processing combined with outline materials so the echo "lights up" interactables and danger zones.
Dolphin AI behavior trees
Behavior-tree logic for companion dolphins, letting sea creatures react naturally to the player and the environment.
VR interaction
HTC Vive input mapping and interaction design, making swimming and sonar feel natural in VR.
Atmosphere
Volumetric fog and lighting — the murky oppression of polluted waters set against the clarity of livable seas.