Case study / Unity VR + 3D design
Dear Nobody.
A virtual reality love letter that makes space for vulnerability and self-reflection.
Independent NYU ITP thesis · Lead Unity developer and 3D designer · Unity, Quest 2, spatial sound, VR interaction
Situation → Task
Give a private feeling a spatial form.
I began Dear Nobody through journaling and research into vulnerability and self-acceptance. My task was to turn that personal material into an experience a participant could enter, rather than a story they simply watched.
In a Quest 2 headset, the participant moves through five scenes shaped by different emotions. Floating thoughts, animated words, and the character Nobody invite reflection without asking for a prescribed response.
Experience
Step inside the story.
The experience demo shows the world and its interaction language; the journey film shows how a participant moves between emotional scenes.
Action
Build the world, then edit for feeling.
As lead Unity developer and 3D designer, I built the scene flow, VR interactions, world and assets, animated 3D text, and spatial sound. The technical decisions served the encounter: text occupies space around the participant, while scene changes follow their movement through the story.
The project went through three iterations in one month. The first prototype had five scenes, floating thoughts, and animated transitions. After feedback, I reduced visual clutter, changed flat white text into more spatial language, adjusted the skybox, and tuned interaction and audio issues that interrupted immersion.
Unity interaction / simplified
An emotional journey shaped by presence.
- 01
Enter a scene
A participant enters one of five environments associated with an emotion.
- 02
Encounter language
Floating thoughts and animated 3D text appear in the virtual space.
- 03
Interact and move
VR interactions and scene transitions carry the participant through the journey.
- 04
Hear the space
Spatial sound supports the mood and sense of place.
Result
A thesis you could enter.
Dear Nobody was presented as an NYU ITP thesis. The original project record documents testing with 11 participants, nine of whom used VR headsets. Their feedback informed the later interaction and visual revisions.
The work shows how I carried a personal concept through worldbuilding, Unity implementation, sound, testing, and a presentable headset experience.