Dev Diary #1 - Human Within: An Innovative Interactive VR Experience

We are excited to introduce our latest project made specifically for VR and with the aim of evolving the format and storytelling capabilities in general. Given this self-driven mandate we should of course begin with the obvious question: What is Human Within? Or perhaps… What isn’t Human Within?

Human Within is neither a film nor a video game by traditional definitions. But it does embrace and challenge these labels and in the process deliver a one-of-a-kind interactive narrative experience for fans of both. Human Within aims to raise the bar among interactive narrative, long-format, VR experiences. It boasts a unique integration of video game playability with a thrilling branched storyline asking for real user decisions leading to different endings. We combine 360° footage with interactive Point Clouds, puzzles and much more to create a uniquely immersive experience.

The concept for Human Within was inspired not only by films like Lawnmower Man and Transcendence, but by true reality as well. It centres around the story of how AI and other high-end technologies influence our lives and how it is on the verge of becoming threatening to society, if misused. The release of ChatGPT 4o is not just linked to AI in films like Her, but the outlook makes our project quite timely and not just be SciFi anymore. The idea of Human Computer Interfaces has been portrayed in several movies, we however link it clearly to today's available tech and in some ways even relate to the latest news about Neuralink. Set in modern day, where technology is reshaping humanity's identity, Human Within is a strong conceptual exploration of the consequences with technological advancements, and the impacts of the selfish or compassionate decisions we make in life.

So back now to what makes Human Within different from other interactive films and narrative based games. We believe it’s the unique integration of the following technical features that is important to highlight…

USER INVOLVEMENT As the player, you are more than simply a viewer of the story, watching it unfold. You are directly involved in the story, representing Linh’s digital consciousness, one of the main characters. From within a virtual internet space, you partake in the story from a unique perspective, where visibility into the real-world is displayed on a series of tangible panels before you, allowing you to follow the events from multiple camera angles at the same time. This allows you to see things in a way that only the VR platform provides. The level of player participation and immersiveness is unlike anything else.

POINT CLOUD INTERACTIVITY At three pivotal moments in the story, events cannot progress until a problem is resolved. From within the system, the player is able to generate digital recreations of the real-world environments, so they can explore them and find a solution from a unique perspective. During these sequences you’re free to move about the area in search of elements to scan. The gameplay and the visual treatment provides pace-breaking moments that enable the player to engage with the story even further, bringing a whole new level of interactivity to the mix.

STYLE VARIETY Although the entire story is told from the perspective of Linh’s digital consciousness, the player gets to experience different parts of it in one of three distinct visual styles that blend live-action film with 3D graphics. Present day events are presented in a vast digital void with a series of virtual panels displayed before you. Each of these tangible panels provides a different camera angle of the events, as well as social media content related to the characters. When the system overloads Linh’s consciousness at key moments in the story, flashback memories are triggered. In them, the player experiences past events in full 360 degree stereo film. While Point Cloud sequences provide the opportunity to freely explore life-sized digital recreations of the environments, with full 6DOF gameplay.

CHOICE & CONSEQUENCE At key moments in the story, events are defined by the user's choices. These select flashback scenes define how events unfolded in the past to impact how it all ends in the present. The combination of the choices made lead to one of 5 possible endings.

We’ll dive a little deeper into that aspect of the experience in our next Dev Diary #2… Human Within: An Original and Thrilling Branching Storyline.

Thank you for reading! The Dev Team