City of Sand - Oculus Launch Pad

Grant Winner of the 2021 Oculus Launchpad - A narrative VR experience about climate change featuring time travel, sand spirits, and player-driven storytelling

Roles

Lead Developer

Technologies

Unity C# Quest 1 & 2 XR Interaction Toolkit

Vertical slice demo of City of Sand

Inspired by the true story of Bayocean, Oregon—a turn of the 20th century coastal resort town that was washed away into the Pacific when they built too much, too fast. On a stormy night in the resort’s crumbling old hotel, you discover how to use your grandfather’s magical “sandpunk” contraptions to travel through time and uncover the town’s lost secrets.

Project Highlights

  • 2021 Oculus Launchpad Grant Winner - Selected from a competitive pool of VR creators
  • Inspired by real history - the tragic fate of Bayocean, Oregon
  • Unique “sandpunk” aesthetic blending magic and mechanical contraptions
  • Time travel mechanics that let players explore the town across different eras
  • Purpose Driven

  • At its core, a story about climate change and how unchecked development creates global crisis
  • Player interactions with the environment determine how the story unfolds
  • Explores possible approaches to existential problems through interactive storytelling
  • A world of curious contraptions, magical sand spirits, and time travel
  • Technical Details

  • Built for Meta Quest 1 & 2 standalone headsets
  • Utilized Unity’s XR Interaction Toolkit for hand tracking and environmental interactions
  • Designed branching narrative systems responsive to player choices

  • Update: While we successfully delivered this vertical slice demo, the full app was not completed due to differing team preferences and priorities. The demo above represents the culmination of our work together on the project.


    cityofsandvr.com

    Read my blog post about getting into Oculus Launchpad

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