University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Morana: explore healing potential of virtual reality storytelling

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Morana: explore healing potential of virtual reality storytelling

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Content University of Southern California
School of Cinematic Arts
Interactive Media and Game Division

Morana: Explore Healing Potential
of Virtual Reality Storytelling

By Dolnapha Veerasilpa (Yaya)

A Thesis submitted to the School of Cinematic Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
graduation with a Masters of Fine Arts Degree

Degree Awarded August 2019

Acknowledgement

I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the people who have provided both mental and
emotional support through this long thesis year.

The USC International Artist Fellowship Program
Andreas Kratky, Jason Robert, Danny Bilson
Jeff Watson, Carl Schnurr, Jane Pinckard
The magical owl squad, Morana Team
The beloved IMGD MFA Cohort Class of 2019
My parents

You have been an important puzzle piece of my life. Thank you for this beautiful chapter of my life and
for making me into who I am today.

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Table of Contents
Abstract 4
Keywords 4
Introduction 5
Prior Art and Research 5
Key Features and Goals 14
Technology 15
Story and World Building 16
Story References 16
Character Development & Design 17
Story Setting & Worldbuilding 21
Storyline 21
Design 22
Image Puzzle As Core Mechanic 22
Gaze Based Interaction 24
Grabable items 24
Locomotion 25
Creating Empathy Through Touch and Avatar 25
Design for Eye Contac: 27
Environment Design 28
Puzzle Illustration Design 30
Conclusion 31
Figures 33
Bibliography 35

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Abstract
MORANA is an interactive, narrative-driven, Virtual Reality experience on Oculus Rift that immerses the
participant in an otherworldly story with rich moral textures and meditative mechanic. The player
embodies a young girl on her journey to bring her recently-deceased grandma’s soul back from the
afterlife. The primary goal of this project is to create an engaging story that explores and strengthen the
power of Virtual Reality storytelling by putting the player in the forefront of the narrative as well as
enhancing a sense of presence and empathy. The secondary goal is to construct a safe space for
participants to explore how impermanence is a root of suffering. In achieving these goals, we focused
intensely on research, story, and design.

Keywords
Virtual Reality, Storytelling, Jigsaw Puzzle, Interactive Narrative

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Introduction
Two key questions have formed the skeleton of this project. First, what can Virtual Reality borrow from
other traditional mediums like literature, fine art, film, theatre, or themed park design to enhance its
storytelling power? Second, how can interactive experience helps people accept and make sense of the
loss of their loved one? This paper will take a close look at how we created an interactive experience to
answer these questions. The first section of this thesis paper explores prior arts and research that are
relevant to designing the experience. The second part covers the key features of the experience, design
and experiential goals of the project, followed by a section focusing on technology. The fourth part
explores the character, story, and worldbuilding. The final portion discusses different aspects of design
from interactivity, playing avatar, environment, to puzzle illustration.

Prior Art and Research
The Impermanence Art:
The theme of impermanence is not new in the realm of art. Since the 17th century, Vanitas painters in the
Netherlands devoted themselves to communicating the inevitability of death and transience of wealth and
worldly achievements. In Latin, the word Vanitas itself means emptiness and worthlessness . On the
contrary, the paintings often portray objects of high value that represent different types of human pursuits.
Shelley Esaak, in her article on Vanitas Painting: Why Artist Paint Skulls in a Still Life, writes: “Secular
knowledge like that found in the arts and sciences may be depicted by books, maps, or instruments.
Wealth and power have symbols like gold, jewelry, and precious trinkets while fabrics, goblets, and pipes
might represent earthly pleasures. Beyond the skull to depict impermanence, a vanitas painting may
include references to time, such as a watch or hourglass. It may use decaying flowers or rotting food for
the purpose as well.” Vanitas uses the simplicity and the contrasting metaphor to communicate a complex
philosophical viewpoint to its audience. On the other hand, a thought-provoking art such as Vanitas can
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also be considered as a religious effort since it took inspiration from the Latin Vulgate Bible verse
Ecclesiastes 1:2 ‘Vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas’ which translates as ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’.

Figure 1: Vanitas-Still Life (Maria van Oosterwijck, 1668)

On the other side of the world, there is the Sand Mandala which is also an artistic ritual performed by
Tibetian Buddhist monks. The word Mandala means circle in Sanskrit. The monks would gather and
ritualistically create a delicate mandala out of color sands for several weeks. The mandala pattern itself
symbolizes the universe or samsara which is the endless cycle of death and rebirth. By the end of the
ceremony, the mandala is destroyed and the sands are transported to the river to be released back to
nature, emphasizing the ephemerality of all things. The concept of impermanence is not only expressed
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through the artwork itself but through the process of constructing and destructing it.

Figure 2: Tibetan Monks Return to Campus to Construct Sand Mandala (UMassAmherst, 2018)

Therapeutic Effects of Fairy Tale:
While the secondary goal of the project is to help participants make sense of their loss, it is important to
note that this experience is not designed to be a substitute for professional mental health care support. The
purpose of this experience is to provide the opportunity to explore and liberate participants from their
unconscious emotional struggle. With that in mind, we looked into the psychological impact of a fairy tale
on children in hope to achieve a similar result in adult participants.

Having been exposed to many more sophisticated art forms, naturally, one might ask: why fairy tale? And
what role does the fairy tale plays in easing the emotional struggle? This traces back to traditional Hindu
medicine where fairy tale is used as a tool to overcome distress in psychically disoriented patients. In
Stories are Medecine: “healing tales” in myth, folklore, and mythic arts , Terri Windling writes:

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”There has long been a mythic link between storytelling and the healing arts -- so much so that in some
ancient societies storytellers and healers were one and the same. Stories are valued in many indigenous
cultures not only for their entertainment value but also as a means to pass on cultural teachings --
including practices intended to prevent imbalance and illness (both physical and mental), and to help
overcome ordeals of disease, calamity, or trauma. In some shamanic traditions, magical tales are told in
a ritual manner to facilitate specific acts of healing.”

In The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, a child psychologist, Bruno
Bettelheim, explains that fairy tale is designed to communicate to all levels of the human mind from a
child to adult of different cultures and backgrounds. Based on his study, we identify three unique
characteristics of the fairy tale:

1. Polarities of the characters: Fairy tale simplifies all complex situations in real life to help
children deal with the unconscious tension and overcome the struggle without giving in to
escapism. The characters in a fairy tale are the typical and often present duality of good and evil.
This allows the child to differentiate the polarities of character traits which otherwise would have
been more ambiguous in real life. Based on the character condition, the child identifies himself
with a character whose conditions provoke his sympathy and make a positive impression on him
which would be the hero. The decision to project himself onto the character and adopt the trait he
recognizes and remembers become a crucial part of his personality development. Adults, on the
other hand, deal with this polarity in a slightly different way. They recognize ambiguous traits in
humans, but still, identify with characters who they fine more relatable and therefore gain more
sympathy from them whether or not that character is good or evil.
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2. The layer of meaning that can be discovered over time: While being simple, the fairy tale is
quite a unique and complex art form in a way that its meaning varies from person to person and
for the same person at a different point in life. The story elements of fairy tales function like
puzzles that are meant to be taken apart, fantasize, rearrange appropriately to fit and response to
the unconscious struggle of a child at any stage of psychological development. For example,
Hansel and Gretel on the surface explores and relieves a child’s fear of being deserted by the
parents or separation anxiety. But to other children, it can be viewed as a story about a sibling or
sexual domination and struggle for independence. To create layers of meaning, it is necessary that
the story has various relatable situations and characters that the audience can identify with.
3. Silent investigation of the inner struggle: Most importantly, the power of fairy tales lies in its
silent enhancement. The story is supposed to be told but never explained. This will only destroy
the fairy tale’s potential in discovering and helping the child cope with that inner struggles.
“Fairy-tale motif are not neurotic symptoms, something one is better off understanding rationally
so that one can rid oneself of them. Such motifs are experienced as wonderous because the child
feels understood and appreciated deep down in his feelings, hopes, and anxieties, without these
all having to be dragged up and investigated in the harsh light of a rationality that is still beyond
him.” (Bruno Bettelheim, 19) By allowing a gap between fantasy and the real world, both
children and adults feel more comfortable internalizing the conflict.

Jigsaw Puzzle:
Realizing how important it is to communicate such a sensitive and heavy subject matter like
impermanence and loss through the unconscious mind, we begin to search for an appropriate mechanic
that has the potential to help participants tap into their subconscious mind to fully explored and ease their
anxiety. This is when we stumble across a jigsaw puzzle by accident. After playing around, it is apparent
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that the process of putting the puzzle pieces together can be very soothing and meditative. According to
Sanesco Health and laboratory division NeuroLab, jigsaw puzzle can shift the human brainwave from
beta to alpha frequency, which is the stage that can be found in a person who is meditating or dreaming.
This brainwave frequency allows us to tap into the subconscious mind and make connections in the
deeper levels. In addition to this benefit, we are also interested in how a jigsaw puzzle is a metaphor of
loss, disorganized, and change. The anxious thoughts of not being able to find the solution are relieved
when we finally correct the pieces. The process of putting the puzzle pieces together puts the player in the
mindset of proactively finding solutions. The player is in the shoes of an observer who is encouraged to
see the bigger picture, especially when scanning for puzzle pieces. This is a process that is essential in
recovering from loss. According to Bowlby's theory on 4 stages of grief, human goes through four stages
of grief: Numbness, Yearning, Disorganized, and Reorganize. We recognize similarities between playing
jigsaw puzzles and these stages of grief. To test the understanding, we asked the team members to play
jigsaw puzzle together as a team building exercise. They were not told about the secondary purpose

Figure 3: 4 Stages of Grief by Bowlby

of the meeting which is for observation. What we learn from the test is that the members felt a sense of
excitement they before become overwhelmed with the problem and possibilities the puzzle offers. At this
point, some players gave up, sit back, and watch. This is comparable to Numbness stage where one would
feel shocked and is still in denial of the loss. The next thing we notice is a group of players start to
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actively sort the pieces into a different collection. The sorting systems include the shape of the puzzle
piece (corner piece vs. centerpiece), colors, patterns, lines, and illustrated shapes. Players often lean back
to see and find what they otherwise wouldn’t when they focus too intensely on the little details. We find
this stage to be similar to the Yearning stage where one starts to search for the meaning behind the loss.
Disorganization takes place as a player put the pieces together based on their sorting systems in the earlier
step. This stage takes the most time since it requires a lot of experimentation, patient, and persistent. One
member describes this step of sorting the puzzle pieces as ‘painful’. In dealing with grief, this stage would
involve a person feeling despair and withdraw from the social circles. Lastly, Reorganization is seen as
players finally completes the puzzles, take a step back, and feeling proud of their achievement. We found
that players talk positively on the experience and their achievement even after several weeks and months.
Similarly, the recovery step takes time which varies from person to person. Seeing this synchronicity, we
believe that the jigsaw puzzle has the potential to empower the participant to deal with grief.

Looking at the Jigsaw puzzle from a design perspective, there are several unique advantages and
limitations to it that cannot be overlooked. In terms of the advantage, the jigsaw puzzle is a
well-established mechanic that requires minimal training and knowledge. It is friendly to a wide range of
players. It also does not put pressure on the player with time or playstyle, yet reward them for the
continuing effort. Each puzzle piece has its value and is irreplaceable. There is no limit to the number of
players and require no communication among players. It comes in a different level of difficulty and
aesthetic style. On the other hand, jigsaw puzzles are limited to one solution most of the time which
results in low replayability. It is also time and space consuming. Most importantly, all the puzzle pieces
need to exist otherwise the image will remain incomplete. Besides jigsaw puzzle, we also looked into
Rubik cube, Tetris, 8 cube building blocks as a potential gameplay mechanic. After identifying the
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advantages and challenges of each design system, we decided to go forward with the image puzzle as the
core mechanic.

Digital Game Comparables:
After agreeing on the core mechanic, we take a look at the VR games in the market that has similar
mechanics. First is the Boxter VR Lite which is a free-to-play, virtual reality game developed by Voksnet
Eood. Player uses gaze mechanic to rotate a set of 3D image cubes to complete a final image. There are a
few takeaways we learn from this experience. The rotating cube mechanic is simple and repetitive, but is
overall enjoyable and is relaxing. The game also covers a decent range of image choices that are rich in
color and can appeal to different types of players. Good sound design should complement the game
mechanic and gives immediate feedback to the player. Gaze mechanic can be very tiring for the player
over time and should be placed in the game mindfully. The color saturation is another consideration when
designing the puzzle. In this case, we find that the image that has high saturation and brightness hurt the
eyes, reduce playtime, and therefore result in players quitting the game.

Minifest 99 by Flight School Studio is a good example of how to use gaze mechanic in VR. It is also an
experience that explores the theme of death and memory. The player plays as a passenger on the train and
has to make eye contact with other animal passengers to teleport into their body to learn about their
memory and piece together the mystery. Gazing into the character's eyes in VR is so powerful and can
provoke fear as well as discomfort in the player. The simplicity of this core mechanic allows the player to
focus entirely on the story and did not cause eye discomfort. The physical constraints of the train carriage
and music provide a clear sense of direction and create a sense of anticipation of what's to come.

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We also reference other non-VR games like To The Moon by Freebird Games and Gorogoa by Jason
Roberts. To The Moon is a narrative-focused RPG puzzle game that tells a story of two doctors traveling
back in time through a dying patient’s memory to fulfill his last wish. The leading characters hold the blue
narrative together with a great sense of humor. The game interestingly plays with the player’s mind using
a deliberately long level design of a hallway scene toward the end of the experience. A puzzle game like
Gorogoa , on the other hand, is very ambiguous in terms of narrative. The sole designer, Jason Roberts,
purposely design this game to be universal so that people of different languages and cultures can
understand and interpret the meaning behind the game on their own. The core mechanic makes use of the
classic sliding image puzzle but adding an extra layer of magic by letting the player zoom in and out of
each image to find the intricate linkage between them. The mechanic is magical and rewarding despite
being repetitive. The richness of visual density and storytelling becomes the focus.

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Key Features and Goals
Based on the two thesis questions we formulated and the research on prior art, we listed out the key
features, design goals and audience experiential goal as follows:
Key Features:
1. An interactive, narrative-driven virtual reality experience
2. Cinematically crafted experience with rich environmental storytelling
3. Image puzzles embedded in a 360-degree environment
4. Solve for spirits repressed memory to discover their unfinished business
5. Intuitive controls with a low barrier of entry experience designed for new VR users
Design Goals
1. To tell an engaging story through the use of space and perspective of the cylindrical image puzzle
as a core mechanic
2. To evoke the emotional connection in the player
3. To create a flow and friendly experience with a low barrier of entry for all types of users
Audience Experiential Goals
1. The experience feels exotic and unique to the participant
2. The core mechanic feels meditative to the participant
3. The participant feels connected to the characters
4. Get the participant to reflect on the theme of impermanence

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Technology
Morana is developed in the Unity Game Engine (Version 2017.3.1) for Oculus Rift. The supported
controller in this experience is Oculus Touch. Since we are developing for Oculus Rift, users will need to
have both Oculus Rift and PC computer that meets the minimum system specifications to run the headset
on. The following information is taken from Oculus Support website.
Graphics Card NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 470 or greater
Alternative Graphics Card NVIDIA GTX 960 4GB / AMD Radeon R9 290 or greater
CPU Intel i3-6100 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200, FX4350 or greater
Memory 8GB+ RAM
Video Output Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 port, plus 2x USB 2.0 ports
OS Windows 8.1 or newer

Besides that, the other software we used in developing the experience includes: Adobe Photoshop,
Autodesk Maya, Zbrush, 3ds Max, Cinema 3D, Substance Suite, OptiTrack Motive, MotionBuilder, and
Reaper.

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Story and World Building
Story References:
There are a few references that Morana directly draws inspiration from. This list includes films like What
Dreams May Come (1998), Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017), When Marnie Was There
(2014), and manga titled Towa No Yoru Ni Mukatte. Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds is a film about
an afterlife of a firefighter who has to go through the seven trials in the hell world to prove that he has
lived a noble life and therefore could reincarnate. The story encourages self-reflection. The character
observes themselves from a removed perspective after they died and could not do anything to change the
outcome of their actions. The lead actor, Cha Tae-hyun , persona is a very ordinary and relatable man. In
each hell court, the punishments for the character bad deeds are discussed in great detail, creating rich
cultural texture to film.

In Towa No Yoru Ni Mukatte which is a comic book about a highschool teacher who discovers that he is
dead and in fact, is stuck in a time loop caused by a nuclear bomb. The comic captures a sense of
boredom and entrapment of everyday life that can be very relatable for students and teachers. The climax
builds upon the endlessness suffering of the earthbound student spirits who do not remember their
unfinished business. The manga ends when the teacher helps all his students pass on, feeling hopeful
about seeing one another again on the other side. It is the doom and gloom yet bittersweet mood and tone
of this story that we hope to capture in Morana. When Marnie Was There, on the other hand, focuses on
very few characters. It tells the story of a young girl who is on the move due to her health condition. She
met a mysterious friend who turns out to be the spirit of her deceased grandmother. We came across this
film by accident in the later state of story development and became interested in how the relationship
between the two characters are built and revealed. The film is also used for color, environment as well as
character design reference.
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Character Development & Design:
After looking through our findings on the characteristics of the fairy tale, we realize that it would be better
to establish a clear character polarity. This would allow us to create scenarios that call for participant
sympathy for the protagonist and to make use of the presumption that the antagonist is always wrong. We
knew from the start that the antagonist must be ‘death’ or someone the society can blame their suffering.
Since the story of Morana is based on a ten years old fantasy RPG forum, its world build and core canon
have been well established and locked in place. So all we had to do was following the core canon,
especially the most important rule which clearly states that nothing is permanence. Putting the two
together, we have the powerful god of death character who is dying. We then named her Morana to hint
for her mortality since, in Slavic language, Morana refers to the goddess of winter or death, but in
Sanskrit, this word simply means death/dead.

Figure 4: Sleeping Beauty (1959)

When it comes to designing the color and look of Morana. We had green palette in mind. This is because
green and magenta were assigned to the villain characters in Disney animated feature Sleep Beauty
(1959). So we hope that the color combination will trick the participant in thinking that Morana is evil.
When the green here is used to represent nature and how nature is impermanence. The tree roots around
Morana’s crown wrap around the cave, making her unable to move and free herself. This is supposed to
represent how attachment can easily become entrapment.

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Figure 5: Color Association Chart

Figure 6: Different design iteration of Morana

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On the contrary, we know that the protagonist must be someone player find relatable. So we decide to go
for an 8 years old child character since everyone will be able to project themselves onto a child and at the
same time want to protect him/her. Knowing that we cannot avoid gender identification, we pick a girl
character to compliment her relationship with the grandmother who is the same gender. This is also
because we would love to see more female protagonist characters in games. When designing the
character, we try to communicate her innocent, shyness, and adorableness through her 3D model height,
cutscene animation, voice acting, as well as the texture, design, and white color of her costume.

Figure 7: Different design iteration of Dia

The grandmother character or Oma in the story is Dia’s foster parent who rescued the little girl from the
woods. The grandmother backstory is heavily tied with Morana. She is one of the few people who knows
where Morana lives and that Morana is not evil as the villagers have grown to believe. Oma passes away
at the beginning of the experience, leaving Dia in despair. The two reunite in the cave of spirit, but the
grandmother’s memory has been dismantled. She is trapped in the cave along with other earthbound
spirits who have unfinished business and therefore unable to pass on to the next world. The challenge we
had in developing the grandmother character is the fact that Dia should be able to recognize her
grandmother until the player piece together all the grandmother spirit’s memory. So we created two
distinct color palettes for the old and young (or spirit) version of the grandmother. The older grandmother,
we aim to portray her as a fragile thin lady who is filled with kindness and wisdom. With that in mind, we
assigned her the blue tone which is often used to represent maturity, calmness, and intelligence. The
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younger version of grandma who has been exposed to violence and danger, yet can remain positive
outlook on life is assigned with orange and red color.

Figure 8: Grandmother Character Design - Present vs. Past version

Besides the protagonist, her grandmother and Morana, there is one more important character called Little.
Little is an owl and also a successor to Morana. Little relationship with Morana is in a way a reflection of
Dia connection with the grandmother. As Dia struggles to release her loved one, Little is also having a
hard time in seeing Morana suffer in silence. The bond between Dia and Little is a secret and special just
like the bond between the grandmother and Morana. Little is, therefore, acts as a catalyst for Dia to let go
of her grandmother. The design consideration of little is simple, he should be adorable. No matter how
dark and desperate the story gets, the player must be able to look down, find little, and smile at him. Also,
like other barn owls of this world, he should have feet that resemble a human hand.

Figure 9: Little Character Design
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Story Setting & Worldbuilding:
The story is set in the misty past of a fantasy world where magic and karma coexist. All the living being’s
deeds are recorded in a form of pattern naturally carved by the cave beetles as they eat rocks and woods in
an environment where an animal or person lives. As that particular living being dies, the pattern will
reappear in the spirit gateway where all the spirits have to go through before reincarnate. Those
earthbound spirits who have unfinished business, however, are trapped due to their desires. The cave
pattern which is the manifestation of their memory became disorganized. Until they can let go of both
their memory and unfinished business, they can never leave. But what the villagers believe to be is more
frightening than turning into an earthbound spirit is the god of death Morana and her minions' barn owls .

Figure 10: Cave Beetle Character Design
Every time they hear a barn owl screech, it means
death will soon follow. The belief around barn
owl and its association with death has taken
inspiration from Thai, Chinese, and other Asian
cultures. In addition, the cave entrance where
Morana lives is
intended to be like the cenote of the Maya cities. Mayan culture believes that the freshwater sinkholes, or
cenote, were the portals to the underworld or the afterlife.

Storyline:
In a world where the God of Death looms over everyone, the player embodies Dia, an eight years old girl
character, following the dead grandmother keepsake which was stolen from her by a barn owl from a
cemetery site into the woods. This leads to her discovery of a sacred cave where she meets earthbound
spirits for the first time. She learns that her deceased grandmother spirit might still be somewhere in the
cave and wish to reunite with her loved one once again. The player solves puzzles to help the spirit recall
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their unfinished business and make the transition to the next life. Each spirit story will contribute to the
Dia understanding of her grandmother passing by the end of the experience.

Design
Image Puzzle As Core Mechanic:
Based on the merit and constraints of jigsaw puzzle as we identified in the research chapter, we realize
the importance of keeping the mechanic simple and tailoring it to Virtual Reality. There were two
requirements we need to meet in designing the mechanic to make sure it complements the story. First
being that the image puzzles should be revealed elegantly and seamlessly. Second is that the participant
should feel somewhat trapped just like other earthbound spirits in the cave. So this is when we came up
with a cylindrical puzzle that wraps the image around the cave. The mechanic then makes use of the
360-degree space of VR. This allows for exploration when the player has to look around which creates a
sense of discovery and increase replayability as a result. In the experience, the player points their
controller at any puzzle pieces for selection. The puzzle pieces then can be dragged around freely in the
cylindrical cave environment. To avoid confusion, the selected puzzle piece will be highlighted and has
other visual cues necessary. The act of moving the puzzle should capture a feeling of moving real stone
bricks, but at the same time make the player feel relaxed and at ease.

Figure 11: Core Mechanic
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Once the player solves each image puzzle by rearranging the cave blocks in the correct order, part of the
spirits repressed memory is revealed, leading to the next image puzzle. Once complete the whole level,
the spirit will altogether recall their unfinished business and able to make the transition to the next level.
As the player goes deeper into the cave, the more difficult the image puzzle will be. For the time being,
we control the difficulty level with amount of puzzle and the style of
puzzle illustration.

Figure 12: Core Game Loop

Figure 13: Gameplay Level Chart

In designing each level, we focus on presenting the player with a variety of characters and element we
think might appeal to different groups of audience. By presenting the audience with different dilemmas
that stem from impermanence, we hope that players will find one of these characters appealing and that it
would allow them to subconsciously explore their emotional struggle. The first level of the game tells the
story of four characters: a scary beast spirit, a sly and cunning fox, a typical old man, and a faithful dog.
Their different dilemmas include: the dog’s disappointment in the impermanence of its physical body that
prevent it from rescuing the owner, the old man’s unfulfilled wish to see his artwork through to
completion, the beast’s anger in believing that someone harms him, and the young grandmother who was
abandoned by her dead parents.
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Gaze Based Interaction:
There are two types of gaze-based interactions in this experience. One is the gaze mechanic that was
designed as part of the core mechanic. Another is a more subtle interaction that rewards the curious player
for looking around and explore the virtual environment. The first type of gaze interaction requires the
player to look at a specific spot for a certain amount of time after completing the image to trigger the next
memory sequence. The purpose of this mechanic is to make sure that the player won’t miss the key
information and can find them quickly. However, these gaze points present itself with several issues
which we will identify in the reflection chapter. As for the second type of gaze-based interaction, the
player takes on a leading role in deciding what is or is not important to them. The game, in turn, responds
to the player’s subject of interest by providing extra information to create a more unique and personalized
experience. This interaction is currently being implemented in the woods scene where the player can
trigger the fawn to run away or the illusion of the grandmother to appear at different places along the way.
We find that the player enjoys these easter eggs and find their experience more meaningful overall.

Grabable items:

Figure 14: Grabbing Objects
Grabbable objects in this
experience are highlighted
visually with particle effects. To
avoid difficulty in picking up
objects from the ground or high
places, the object will
automatically fly toward the player when reaching a close proximity.

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Locomotion:
The player moves around in the world by pointing at the desired teleport portal and clicking to
automatically move there. In the previous version, we experimented with using the thumbstick to

Figure 15: Teleportation Mechanic
manually control the
direction and add the
acceleration. However, we
find that most of the players
experience some sort of
motion sickness.

Creating Empathy Through Touch and Avatar:
To create empathy and connection between the player and the protagonist, we design the experience so
that Dia would make her first appearance from the start. She is crying in the dark and does not
acknowledge the player. Dia is placed in the distance in darkness and seems to be communicating to
someone named ‘Morana’. It’s only when Dia starts sobbing, the player can teleport next to her. By
letting the player spot and invade Dia personal space, the player becomes a predator who is watching its
prey. The character design in combination with soft environment lighting, help us paint Dia in a
vulnerable light. All of this is to build up for the climax moment in this scene when players are guided to
pat her on the head. Players are prompted to move their hand close to dia and pat her.
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Figure 16: Petting Dia

As they do that, the controller gives off haptic feedback, reinforcing the feeling of actually touching
someone and leverage the player’s emotional connection to Dia. The player finds this moment rewarding
and memorable. The player can do similar action with Little in the later sequence. This mechanic is
designed with reference to Ico (2001) in mind. In the game, the player meets a mysterious girl who they
have to hold hands with. The force feedback of the controller heightens intimacy and reinforce the act of
hand-holding. Similarly, The Machine to Be Another study by BeAnotherLab suggests that if the
synchronicity between the avatar and their avatar hand occurs then the player will start to believe that the
avatar body is their even if the race and gender are different from their own. This is how empathy can be
created in virtual spaces. By understanding this, we can assume that by having the player touches Dia and
seeing themselves becoming her by gaining her human hand would increase empathy and emotional
connection they feel for her character.
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Design for Eye Contact:
To further enhance the feeling of presence, we design the experience so that the characters gazing
direction will match the player’s head movement. There are times when this effect is disabled to deliver
the cutscene. Players reported a powerful moment of giving and receiving full attention from the
characters. Some player spends up to 3 minutes just playing and talking to the character. We believe that
by maintaining eye contact with these virtual characters/animals, this could help alleviate stress and
anxiety in the same way pets can elevate levels of dopamine and serotonin in humans which will make
them more relaxed and calm in the real world. Besides that, by having Little accompany the player
throughout the experience we want to remind them that they are not dealing with the problem alone.

Figure 17: Eye Contact with the characters
27

Environment Design:
In the prologue scene, the player is presented with a dark half-cylindrical cave wall. We use minimal light
to direct attention to one part of the scene at a time. This is to make sure that the player sees and can
follow along with the tutorial without any difficulty. In creating the wood scene, we are presented with
many challenges. First of all, the scene sets at night and therefore need to be dark. However, the player
should still be able to spot easter eggs and important storytelling elements in the scene. Second, how to let
players navigate to the scene without allowing them to see the destination which is the cenote before their
avatar psychically reaches it. Lastly, the scene is long and has three important story beats. We take
inspiration from Don Carson, theme parks and virtual world designer, work in designing this particular
environment. We learn that we can easily excite player with the technique of passing through layers.
What this means is to create a distinct visual threshold. This can be anything from a bridge, change in
lighting, or color temperature. We also adopted the technique of using corners to conceal and reveal
different parts of the scene and story beat. This level layout has no backtracking and constantly move the
player forward until they reach the cenote. However, they are encouraged to stop and look around and
find hidden details along the way. If they pause and along the way, they might see the human skull and
dead bodies lying in the riverbed or spot carriage, masks and arrows that are foreshadowing at the second
spirit’s memory that they will come across at a later point in the game.

28

Figure 18: Less Desirable and Optimal Layout

We also make sure to use light and color to draw attention to specific areas of the scene, especially to
highlight the characters. In some cases, it was also necessary to use distinct sound to make sure we have
the participant full attention. At the end of the prologue scene and beginning of the wood scene, a barn
owl screech provides a player sense of direction and know where to look at.

The environment design in the cave scene is straightforward but has one major challenge. During playtest,
we find that one player expressed that they feel trapped and wanting to get out. This was indeed the
design intention, but because of the feedback, we had to find the balance. So in the end, we resolved this
issue by using color to fake the depth cue. We darken the color of the cave wall so that it looks almost
pitch black. The darker tone makes the walls seem farther away.

29
Puzzle Illustration Design:
In designing the puzzle illustration, there are a few things we kept in mind. We want to trick player to
believe that the cave is larger and not so flat as it is. Secondly, the image must wrap seamlessly around
the cave. Where we position the characters in the puzzles are also extremely crucial in making sure that
the players don’t have to move their head too much from one image puzzle to the next to avoid motion
sickness, unless we explicitly want them to. Forth is a spin-off from the previous one: how do we direct
attention to the key storytelling element of each illustration. The design takes inspiration directly from
Bruce Block in directing the eye using color, shape, scale, line, and rhythm. In figure 18, the wooden stick
acts as a leading line to guide the player to find the dog. The moon becomes a central element that
drawing the player’s attention back to the old man character. Figure 19, the two leading characters are
placed in the opposite direction of the cave. The player is forced to look left and right between two
characters, stressing the feeling of separation and despair. Besides that, we try to create greater contrast in
the visual component in this shot to increase visual intensity that highlights the climactic story structure.

Figure 19: Morana Puzzle Illustration - The Walk

Figure 20: Morana Puzzle Illustration - The Collapsing House

30
Conclusion
In creating this virtual reality experience, we find that there are an overwhelming amount of work in a
traditional medium that can be applied to our practice. Children’s literature gave us a framework to
develop a potential healing narrative that could help people cope with their loss. A classic mechanic like a
jigsaw puzzle that was meant to be an educational toy has a meditative quality that has not been fully
explored properly in virtual spaces. Fine art like the Vanitas paintings invites us to use contrasting
elements and simple metaphors to communicate the deeper meaning we wish to convey. However, one
should not mistake this simplicity for shallowness. We learn the importance of light, tone, mise en scene,
and other visual elements in drawing audience attention to the subject matter in the virtual world from
cinema and how to create a good level design taking inspiration from the Theme park. Along with other
research, these takeaways set a strong foundation that allows us the freedom to experiment and iterate as
we go. As the production continues, we hope to add more levels to the game and gather more data on the
emotional impact and healing potential of this experience.

Over the past eighteen months, the development team has been committed to creating exciting storytelling
Virtual Reality experience that focuses on building empathy, presence, and provide the space for
participants to investigate their inner struggle. The game went through a lot of iterations on all aspects
including story, mechanic, and art. We often come back to the meeting room with a long list of things to
fix. We were constantly looking for effective solutions for interaction, motion sickness and ways to
amplify presence and emotional connection in the player. We found ourselves rewriting the game script,
removing one whole level, and adding a whole new scene three months before our final deadline. At one
point, the journey in creating this interactive experience seems pretty hopeless since we did not receive
one good feedback that could balance out the things that were not working. Just like the process of putting
the jigsaw puzzle together, it is frustrating and overwhelming. But as we persist and continue to work
31
diligently on the playtester’s feedback and the goals we set for ourselves, we start to receive more positive
feedback from the playtesting sessions. It felt like the puzzle piece slowly but surely falls into place one
by one. For other developers and designers out there, we would like to encourage you to keep going and
fall forward. One day, all the pieces will fall into its place and you will know that even failure is
impermanent.

32

Figures
Figure 1: Vanitas-Still Life (Maria van Oosterwijck, 1668)
Image retrieved from: Useum as still from Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien Museum (Austria)
https://useum.org/artwork/Vanitas-still-life-Maria-van-Oosterwijck
Figure 2: Tibetan Monks Return to Campus to Construct Sand Mandala
Image retrieved from: UMass Amherst as still from University of Massachusetts Amherst
https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/tibetan-monks-return-campus-construct-sand
Figure 3: 4 Stages of Grief by Bowlby - A self created diagram created to explain Bowlby theory on 4
Stages of Grief
Figure 4: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Image retrieved from: Reel3 as still from Jason Haggstrom
http://reel3.com/maleficent-for-the-love-of-purple-green/
Figure 5: Color Association Chart
Image retrieved from: Conversation as still from Carlos Centeno
https://conversation.pposinc.com/2016/07/06/lose-color-symbolism-chart-unpredictable-meanings/color-
associations/
Figure 6: Morana - Different design iteration of Morana
Figure 7: Morana - Different design iteration of Dia
Figure 8: Morana - Grandmother Character Design - Present vs. Past version
Figure 9: Morana - Little Character Design
Figure 10: Morana - Cave Beetle Character Design
Figure 11: Morana - Core Mechanic
Figure 12: Morana - Core Game Loop
33
Figure 13: Morana - Gameplay Level Chart
Figure 14: Morana - Grabbing Objects
Figure 15: Morana - Teleportation Mechanic
Figure 16: Morana - Petting Dia
Figure 17: Morana - Eye Contact with the characters
Figure 18: Less Desirable and Optimal Layout
Image retrieved from: Theme Park & Virtual World Design as still from Don Carson
http://themedenvironments.blogspot.com/
Figure 19: Morana - Puzzle Illustration - The Walk
Figure 20: Morana - Puzzle Illustration - The Collapsing House

34
Bibliography
● Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: the Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales .
Penguin Books, 1991.
● Block, Bruce. The Visual Story, Second Edition: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and
Digital Media . Focal Press, 2013.
● BORRIES, Friedrich von., et al. Space Time Play: Computer Games, Architecture and Urbanism:
the next Level . Birkhäuser, 2007.
● Centeno, Carlos. “Color Associations Chart.” Conversation Blog , June 2016,
conversation.pposinc.com/2016/07/06/lose-color-symbolism-chart-unpredictable-meanings/color-
associations/.
● Chittister, Joan. “The Mandala: Why Do Monks Destroy It?” HuffPost , HuffPost, 20 Nov. 2011,
www.huffpost.com/entry/mandala-why-destroy-it_b_970479.
● Esaak, Shelley. "Vanitas Painting." ThoughtCo, May. 23, 2019,
thoughtco.com/vanitas-painting-definition-183179.
● Esaak, Shelley. “Why Did Artists Paint Skulls in a Still Life?” ThoughtCo , ThoughtCo, 23 May
2019, www.thoughtco.com/vanitas-painting-definition-183179.
● Fundamentals of Game Design . Larsen & Keller Educ, 2017.
● Hornik , Heidi J., and Mikeal C. Parsons. “Vanitas, by Pieter Claesz (c. 1597–1660).” The
Christian Century , 5 July 2016,
www.christiancentury.org/artsculture/on-art/vanitas-pieter-claesz-c-1597-1660.
● “Mood-Boosting Power of Pets.” HelpGuide.org , 24 June 2019,
www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/mood-boosting-power-of-dogs.htm.
● “Religions - Buddhism: Sacred Mandala.” BBC , BBC, 23 Nov. 2009,
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/customs/mandala.shtml.
35
● “The Machine to Be Another.” The Machine to Be Another , www.themachinetobeanother.org/.
● Thorp, Charley Linden. “Tibetan Sand Mandalas.” Ancient History Encyclopedia , Ancient
History Encyclopedia, 1 July 2019, www.ancient.eu/article/1052/tibetan-sand-mandalas/.

36

Abstract (if available)

Abstract MORANA is an interactive, narrative-driven, Virtual Reality experience on Oculus Rift that immerses the participant in an otherworldly story with rich moral textures and meditative mechanic. Player embodies a young girl on her journey to bring her recently-deceased grandma’s soul back from the afterlife. The primary goal of this project is to create an engaging story that explore and strengthen the power of Virtual Reality storytelling by putting the player in the forefront of the narrative as well as enhancing sense of presence and empathy. The secondary goal is to construct a safe space for participants to explore and reflect on how impermanence is a root of suffering. In achieving these goals, we focused intensely on research, story, and design.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Veerasilpa, Dolnapha (Yaya) (author)

Core Title Morana: explore healing potential of virtual reality storytelling

School School of Cinematic Arts

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Interactive Media

Publication Date 08/15/2019

Defense Date 08/15/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag interactive narrative,jigsaw puzzle,OAI-PMH Harvest,Storytelling,virtual reality

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Wixon, Dennis (committee chair), Fullerton, Tracy (committee member), Watson, Jeff (committee member)

Creator Email dveerasilpa@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-211255

Unique identifier UC11663242

Identifier etd-Veerasilpa-7802.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-211255 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Veerasilpa-7802.pdf

Dmrecord 211255

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Veerasilpa, Dolnapha (Yaya)

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA