Echoes of Cost

OVERVIEW

Echoes of Cost VR Platform is an immersive experience designed to help individuals process the emotional and psychological burdens of decision-making. Through the Decision Tree, users visually track the hidden costs of their choices, represented as growing artifacts. As the tree becomes overloaded, users engage in a reflective prayer-like ritual at the Altar of Forgiveness, where they release guilt and achieve emotional healing.

Roles: Concept, 3D Environment, UI/UX

Date: Mar 2025 - May 2025

Duration: 10 weeks

Tools: Blender, Unity, Figma

SNEAK PEEK: WOLRD BUILDING

“How might we help players understand the emotional cost of their choices?”

PROBLEM SPACE

Implicit Cost

When it comes to implicit cost, most people instinctively think of cost mediated by money: buying and selling goods, purchasing services, and so on. However, beyond money, our lives are filled with hidden costs beyond money. Most of life’s dissatisfactions stem from failing to recognize these hidden costs. In my view, these hidden costs are often far more valuable than money itself.

Cyber Confession

Cyber Confession refers to the act of individuals expressing or reflecting on their mistakes, faults, guilt, or remorse in digital or online environments. This is often done through online platforms, social media, or other digital tools, typically driven by the need for self-redemption.

Implicit Cost & Cyber Pray Platform

I hope to create a cyber prayer platform, integrated with the concept of the Tree of Life, that allows people to record moments of decision-making and their immediate positive emotional feedback. By recognizing invisible costs, they can transform them into a mix of positive and negative emotional responses, rather than getting stuck in endless self-reproach.

GAME FLOW

INFO ARCHITECTURE

The information structure organizes the VR experience into four main areas: My Realm, a central space for exploration; My Pavilion, a quieter reflective zone; Costly Artifacts, where symbolic objects carry emotional meaning; and the Confession Hub, a space for personal expression and release. Together, these areas guide the user through different emotional stages and shape how the experience unfolds over time.

3D MODELING

Sketches

3D Models

VR INTERFACE

AI CHORDS GENERATION

Process - Define the mood

Curiosity: Tech Gadget

Driven by curiosity about a new tech gadget, Alex buys it to experience its features. Later, they realize the constant updates and maintenance demand more time, which takes away from other activities.

Contentment: Secure Job

Content with her stable job, Yawen turns down a higher-paying, more challenging opportunity. Later, she find her career stagnating, missing out on advancement and skill growth.

Process - AI Generation

Awe: Traveling

Inspired by awe, Lilly impulsively books a trip to a scenic location. Afterward, he faces financial strain and the disruption of their work-life balance, realizing the implicit costs of the decision.