Carnegie Mellon University
August 2022 - May 2024
Note: The following experiences were developed at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University.
INTENT - Interactive Tool for Empathy in Neurotypicals
Team Size: 13
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Role: Producer, Narrative Lead
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Platforms: Unity WebGL
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Tools: Trello, Twine, Yarn Spinner, Google Docs, Google Sheets.
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Duration: September 2023 - December 2023 (4 months)
Project Goal
To create a transformational experience to impart empathy in neurotypicals for autistic people in a professional workplace.
Contributions:​​​
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Led a 14-week initiative with CMU, the University of Maryland, and an Autistic Social Worker to develop a Unity WebGL game promoting workplace allyship between neurotypicals and autistic individuals.
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Led research by reviewing client-provided research, conducting independent research, and interviewing Autistic individuals to identify gaps and opportunities.
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Collaborated with subject matter experts and clients to align transformational goals, prioritizing features and tasks accordingly.
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Spearheaded narrative development, conceptualizing story branches, dialogues, and important events.
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Created Playtest and QA plans for feature, narrative, and gameplay tests, conducting over 60+ sessions and gathering valuable player interaction data for further research at the University of Maryland.
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Collaborated with the technical artist to match animations to dialogues, facilitating easy customization and updates over time.
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Streamlined the animation pipeline from Maya to Unity by defining animation layers and programming an animation controller system in Unity, in collaboration with the technical artist.
Building Virtual Worlds (BVW)
Rapid Prototyping
The following short films were created as a part of the "BVW" course.
The aim was to form small teams of 5 people and build a virtual world within two weeks for each round, with different teams and objectives for each round.
Team Size: 5 (Each round)
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Role: Producer, Programmer
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Platforms: Unity, Ekto VR boots, Meta Quest, HTC Vive, Valve Index (HMD-less setup), PlayStation 3D Rudder.
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Tools: Trello, Google Docs, Google Sheets.
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Duration: September 2022 - December 2022 (4 months)
RomiYe and JuliYeti
First ever experience at ETC created using Ekto VR boots
Goal: Create a fun experience using a novel platform - Ekto VR Boots
User Story: You play as a Yeti stranded in a frozen tundra, separated from your Yeti girlfriend. Your goal is to cross a road filled with melting/breaking ice blocks to reunite with her. Beware of penguins crossing your path—if they hit you, you drown!
Echo
Goal: A VR experience where guest protects character-1 from character-2.
User Story: You are a blind father trapped in a post-earthquake environment with your child. Navigate through the broken building using sound to find your child first and then escape the area before everything collapses!
Character - 1 = Your child
Character - 2 = Darkness
Whale Fall
Goal: Create a VR storytelling experience
User Story: You are the spirit of nature that accompanies a whale to her final resting place. The story walks you through how humans are harming nature but in the end, nature always wins.
DRUNK PUNCHERS : INDIA EDITION
Goal: Create a fun experience for the BVW festival
User Story:
A 2v2 local multiplayer co-op game.
Team up with a buddy to control a single drunk character. One player controls the arms while the other controls the feet.
Fight against another team of two controlling their own drunk character. The last team standing wins.
Short Films
The following short films were created as a part of the "Visual Story" course.
The goal was to convey a story to the guest without any dialogue or direct written cues.
Team Size: 1
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Role: Co-Director, Producer, Narrative Lead
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Platforms: Adobe Premier Pro, Photoshop
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Tools: Google Sheets.
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Duration: September 2022 - December 2022 (4 months)