Echoes of the city
Entertainment design ｜ VR design
This project is an immersive VR game that examines the relationship between urban development, technological progress, and human presence. It unfolds through three layers: the warmth and vitality of the ancient city, the ruins and memories of the modern city, and the efficiency yet coldness of the future city. By navigating these spaces, players experience time as layered strata of civilization and are invited to reflect: in the relentless pursuit of convenience and progress, have we lost the essence of life and the warmth of humanity?
Platform: VR (PICO 4 Ultra VR/MR Headset)
Engine: Unreal Engine5.3.2
Core game play: A narrative-driven single-player immersive game
01 Inspiration
"We are swept into a tide of technology — robots, the relentless pursuit of intelligence, remote work, self-driving cars, AI assistants.
In chasing the dream of modernization, we have reshaped our cities to serve progress, yet quietly stripped them of warmth. Once, streets carried history, character, and human closeness. Now, uniform skyscrapers rise, their cold glass facades widening the distance between us.
Without noticing, we too have been reshaped — our lives influenced by these surroundings, and the warmth of the city slowly fades away."
In chasing the dream of modernization, we have reshaped our cities to serve progress, yet quietly stripped them of warmth. Once, streets carried history, character, and human closeness. Now, uniform skyscrapers rise, their cold glass facades widening the distance between us.
Without noticing, we too have been reshaped — our lives influenced by these surroundings, and the warmth of the city slowly fades away."
Our city is slowly losing its soul, becoming without temperature and character,
what kind of city do you want to live in?
What kind of life do you wish to lead?
Taking the changes of China Beijing, the city where I live, as an example, by discussing the past and present of Beijing and reflecting the current problems of the city, combining virtual reality technology to present the final results.
Modern technology quietly influences our lives. If we fail to think about how to harness it, and instead passively let it dictate our way of living, we are destined to end up in a state of “loss”.
02 Research
2.1 Comparison analysis table
According to the different types of games, the common types of VR games on the market are :VR shooting games, VR adventure games, VR puzzle games, VR music games, VR dance games, VR sports games, etc.
I selected a few narrative interactive games for further comparative analysis.
2.2 Conclusion
Techniques that deepen people's sense of experience, such as tight linear narrative logic , gravity gloves, and zero-gravity interaction, are what I can learn in my later creations
03 Ideation
3.1 Worldview
Vertical City — Triple Dimensions · Temporal Stacking
In a higher-dimensional world, it represents the ultimate form of technological development—time woven in three-dimensional layers. Civilization unfolds within a vertical structure where different eras of urban forms are compressed into a single space, stacking time into solid layers.
At the very top, the city seems to be heading toward an irreversible extreme—where ultimate convenience breeds emptiness, and technological supremacy conceals the solitude of lost humanity. People enjoy unprecedented ease and innovation, yet gradually forget the true meaning of life.
3.2 Player character
The player is a passionate tech inventor of the early 21st century—an explorer driven by a love for emerging technologies. During an experiment, you accidentally open a rift into a higher-dimensional space, where the Vertical City unfolds before your eyes… granting you the chance to witness its past, present, and future.
The “player” is us — a reflection of our own relentless pursuit of technological progress.
The game offers no definitive answers; instead, it invites exploration and reflection, prompting players to reconsider the balance between technology and life, the coexistence of history and future, and the vision of a city that truly belongs to humanity.
The “player” is us — a reflection of our own relentless pursuit of technological progress.
The game offers no definitive answers; instead, it invites exploration and reflection, prompting players to reconsider the balance between technology and life, the coexistence of history and future, and the vision of a city that truly belongs to humanity.
3.3 Mechanism
- A narrative-driven single-player game with a linear storyline.
- Emphasize immersive experiences
- The final chapter poses the question: "What kind of city do you want to live in?"
04 Game flow
05 Map planning and Concept art
Traditional Chinese architecture, lively and vibrant street scenes, vendors calling out their wares—a bustling yet welcoming city scape full of warmth and distinctive Chinese character, brimming with everyday life.
The once-familiar 21st-century modern architecture has been abandoned, and our cities lie deserted, reduced to crumbling ruins.
In the airborne city, life has severed its ties to the ground—fully automated, efficient, yet devoid of human warmth. Every act is dictated by data, precise but impersonal. What remains is not a city, but a temporary dwelling suspended in coldness and quiet tension.
06 Input design
07 NPC setting
08 Blueprint compilation
NPC Sequence
Robot Particle System
Automatic Door 2
AI Character
Collision
Dialogue logic Settings
NPC Dialogue
Automatic Door 1
09 Story board - Lower layer
The ancient city - The ancient city THE ANCIENT CITY
In this lower world, time seems frozen in ancient textures. Winding alleys and stone-paved roads, polished smooth by years, shimmer with a gentle glow.
There is no cold steel or data here—only lively streets and the chorus of daily life: vendors’ calls, children’s laughter, and the soft strains of music drifting from teahouses, woven together into a warm symphony.
Life may not be convenient, yet it is vivid and real. Eyes meet with kindness and familiarity
This is a city alive with cultural depth, human warmth, and the spirit of everyday life.
Scene 1:
Strolling through bustling markets
Scene 2:
Chatting with vendors
Scene 3:
Guessing lantern riddles
Scene 4:
Releasing sky lanterns to make wishes
10
Story board - Middle layer
The ancient city - The ancient city THE ANCIENT CITY
In this lower world, time seems frozen in ancient textures. Winding alleys and stone-paved roads, polished smooth by years, shimmer with a gentle glow.
There is no cold steel or data here—only lively streets and the chorus of daily life: vendors’ calls, children’s laughter, and the soft strains of music drifting from teahouses, woven together into a warm symphony.
Life may not be convenient, yet it is vivid and real. Eyes meet with kindness and familiarity
This is a city alive with cultural depth, human warmth, and the spirit of everyday life.
In this lower world, time seems frozen in ancient textures. Winding alleys and stone-paved roads, polished smooth by years, shimmer with a gentle glow.
There is no cold steel or data here—only lively streets and the chorus of daily life: vendors’ calls, children’s laughter, and the soft strains of music drifting from teahouses, woven together into a warm symphony.
Life may not be convenient, yet it is vivid and real. Eyes meet with kindness and familiarity
This is a city alive with cultural depth, human warmth, and the spirit of everyday life.
10 Story board - Middle layer
The ancient city -
The ancient cit
THE
TWILIGHT OF THE 21ST CENTURY IN THE OLD CITY
This layer is the boundary between memory and abandonment. Once a thriving metropolis of the late 21st century, it now lies in ruins.
Skyscraper skeletons stand against a hazy sky, while broken neon signs flicker faintly. The air is thick with rust and dust, and the wind howls through the wreckage.
It is both a witness to human progress and a city of memory—discarded, left behind in the relentless cycle of technological change.
Scene 5:
Reach the Middle layer
Scene 6: Talk to city spirit
Scene 7: Find remaining urban memories
Scene 8:
Listen to the city's memories
11 Story board - Upper level
The ancient city - The ancient ciTHE FUTURE CITY
The future city hangs suspended in the sky, seemingly freed from the pull of the earth. Transparent tracks and dense structures weave into a frigid steel jungle, as ultraviolet light cuts through thin air, casting a blinding glare.
Humanity lives in fully automated pods—no labor, no dialogue, every need precisely controlled by data. Drones and mechanical hums replace human voices; efficiency replaces chance; order replaces warmth. The city is no longer a home, but a temporary dwelling of cold precision.
Behind ultimate convenience and rational perfection, humanity has lost its essence—emotion, connection, and the meaning of life itself.
Scene 9: Bleak steel jungle
Scene 10: Encounter upper level residents.
Scene 11:
Within the future habitat——stumble upon old photographs.
Scene 12: Gazing from the heights — a moment of reflection
THE
TWILIGHT OF THE 21ST CENTURY IN THE OLD CITY
This layer is the boundary between memory and abandonment. Once a thriving metropolis of the late 21st century, it now lies in ruins.
Skyscraper skeletons stand against a hazy sky, while broken neon signs flicker faintly. The air is thick with rust and dust, and the wind howls through the wreckage.
It is both a witness to human progress and a city of memory—discarded, left behind in the relentless cycle of technological change.
This layer is the boundary between memory and abandonment. Once a thriving metropolis of the late 21st century, it now lies in ruins.
Skyscraper skeletons stand against a hazy sky, while broken neon signs flicker faintly. The air is thick with rust and dust, and the wind howls through the wreckage.
It is both a witness to human progress and a city of memory—discarded, left behind in the relentless cycle of technological change.
11 Story board - Upper level
THE FUTURE CITY
The future city hangs suspended in the sky, seemingly freed from the pull of the earth. Transparent tracks and dense structures weave into a frigid steel jungle, as ultraviolet light cuts through thin air, casting a blinding glare.
Humanity lives in fully automated pods—no labor, no dialogue, every need precisely controlled by data. Drones and mechanical hums replace human voices; efficiency replaces chance; order replaces warmth. The city is no longer a home, but a temporary dwelling of cold precision.
Behind ultimate convenience and rational perfection, humanity has lost its essence—emotion, connection, and the meaning of life itself.
The future city hangs suspended in the sky, seemingly freed from the pull of the earth. Transparent tracks and dense structures weave into a frigid steel jungle, as ultraviolet light cuts through thin air, casting a blinding glare.
Humanity lives in fully automated pods—no labor, no dialogue, every need precisely controlled by data. Drones and mechanical hums replace human voices; efficiency replaces chance; order replaces warmth. The city is no longer a home, but a temporary dwelling of cold precision.
Behind ultimate convenience and rational perfection, humanity has lost its essence—emotion, connection, and the meaning of life itself.
12 Game video
12 Game video