Dynamic movement in VR

I've been thinking about interesting movement and rhythm games in VR.

Rough mechanic demo: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CBb4i6yqq_Y

Inspiration for the mechanic: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Zz-d8Ijw5FU

Super Mom Training Gym

An art game created for gallery spaces that illustrates strength needed in becoming a mother.

, I built three Unity minigames that represent different experiences Jiabao had in becoming a mother. I enjoyed helping her to share her experiences through an interactive format, and learning more about Unity's HD lighting and rendering pipeline.

"I 3D-scanned my nine-month pregnant body and brought it into a character animator. It transformed my heavy, restricted physical form into a vessel for superhero moves. Suddenly, I can jump twenty meters and perform hurricane kicks, even while the physical me cannot bend down to put on my shoes.

Society often expects mothers to be superhuman: to give birth, recover instantly, work, nurture, and sacrifice without pause. This superhero mom lets me inhabit that fantasy in digital space. I feel relieved. In my super-pregnant body, I lift hospitals, kick insurance forms, and clone myself to multitask: take care of my baby, can’t slow down my career, be pretty and sexy, be positive, run a startup, make art, teach, and many more.

This is the training gym for the modern mother: a place where the pregnant body is finally granted the power to do it all."

Spatial Architect (Prototype)

Spatial Architect is a mixed-reality training platform that teaches artists spatial motor control through measurable drills.

Many 2D artists develop expertise in their craft through formal education based on drills and exercises. Spatial Architect is a VR app used to drill a similar set of exercises, adapted for a 3D drawing environment. 

The training application will initially focus on wireframe tracing drills to give artists a strong muscle memory of 3D form. Users will start by developing hand-eye coordination by tracking simple lines, and continue by unlocking progressively challenging drills until they are drawing wireframes of more complex objects. Audiovisual feedback helps the user perceive their level of accuracy during the drill.

Performance metrics are tracked for each exercise, helping users to analyze what skills to work on. Unlocking levels and getting 5-star scores helps users see visible progress and improve confidence throughout their journey. Existing VR art tools focus on expression, not structured skill acquisition. Spatial Architect is the first system built specifically for measurable spatial motor skills training.

GEOGROOVE

GEOGROOVE is an audiovisual experience, transforming the room around you into a dynamic landscape of shapes and sculptures. Virtually touching these objects generates movement, sounds, and patterns, leading to an experience that evolves with your exploration.

GEOGROOVE evolved from a series of experiments building unique instruments in virtual reality. I wanted to explore music creation and performance in VR, while bringing that same experience into the 'real world'.

As a live experience, GEOGROOVE brings two people together to compose sounds and music, while using mixed reality technology to bring the audience and performers into the same world.

Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival 2024 (Seattle, WA)

Cloud Pup Choir

Cloud Pup Choir is a mobile-first rhythm experience where players catch falling notes to help their Cloud Pup sing. Each pup has its own tone, and multiplayer sessions blend everyone’s pups into a tiny choir floating in the sky. A generative music system keeps every playthrough fresh, balancing looping motifs with new melodic surprises. You earn coins as you play, which you can use to unlock new pups with new voices.

Dancestar Dream

I’ve always loved rhythm games like DDR and Beat Saber, and I recently started taking a dance class that reminded me how joyful it is to learn to dance with others, inspiring me to create a world about becoming a bigtime dancer that feature a fun rhythm game.

Dancestar Dream is a multiplayer rhythm-dance experience. When players enter, they receive a personal studio to learn swiping and tapping gestures to the beat. As they perform choreography, they earn stars, level up, and unlock outfits and studio decor. Players can also cheer on others with fireworks, interacting from afar.

I built a custom rhythm system in TypeScript, combining gesture tracking, timing logic, and avatar animation syncing to original music. I use asset spawning to serve a broad wardrobe and studio signage library, giving each player a unique visual identity and space. Choreography runs on a data-driven timeline for precise beat mapping.

Some challenges were designing a multi-stage layout so visitors could listen, but music wouldn’t disrupt other active dancers. Similarly, designing mainstage element visibility to avoid overcrowding for a group.

I’m proud of how well several routines match the music emotionally and rhythmically. It’s been great seeing players naturally hype each other up and step into their “dancestar” persona.

I deepened my understanding of timing systems, judgment feedback, and world variable-driven asset spawning, including daily rotating content pools. I also created a custom Blender skybox and refined my workflow to use AI for iteration (especially props, structural elements, and SFX) while maintaining a strong personal creative vision.

I'd love to bring full-body VR support, add NPC quests and special events, and continue expanding moves, costumes, and studio customization.

Melt

MELT is a live, cooperative game where your choices reshape the space around you. Use a magical stone to help color beings trapped in symbolic scenes. Pick a symbol, shift the story, and spark transformation together.

I worked as the lead digital game developer on the Melt experience. We designed an interactive room that combined a puzzle game with responsive music and visuals. We used Unity and Touchdesigner to run the experience.

We focused on making the experience totally nonverbal. Outside of learning some of the lore of this magical experience, we focused on making a puzzle experience that players would have to discover through relaxed gameplay.

Bubble Brain

In a dreamy fishbowl world, players help forgetful goldfish navigate poor memory through rituals, conversations, and surreal puzzles. The game playfully examines how we cope with filtering information and shaping collective thought in an overstimulated world.

Click here to see all visual references and concept art

You enter a surreal underwater world where fish and memory collide.


You arrive in a cozy fishbowl ruled by a carefree lounging fish. Through lighthearted conversation and a “follow the leader” swim ritual, you collect fish flakes and unlock the path to the deeper world below.


Beneath the surface lies a glowing cave filled with drifting memory bubbles. Here, an anxious inventor fish introduces her latest creation: a memory machine built to preserve her fading thoughts. By collecting and delivering the right memory bubbles, you help her rediscover lost insights.


In the final area, you discover a hypnotic reef of glowing televisions with fish watching them. 3 -5 televisions loop silly broadcasts: advertisements, clickbait, prejudicial conspiracies. 

By gazing at a screen, you activate a quest that transforms the world around you into that channel’s reality. You can choose to indulge, question, or redirect what the fish believe, considering the way our responses matter in media-saturated environments.

In these three levels, the game explores how we respond to overwhelming media - through ignorance, reflection, or shaping collective thought.

Players engage in branching dialog with a lounging fish to learn world logic.

The “swim routine” teaches 3D swim movement through a follow-the-leader ritual using trigger zones and an animated fish.

Memory bubbles can be picked up and delivered using click or VR grab interaction.

Delivering bubbles to the inventor fish triggers contextual dialog, giving clues to progress.

The main puzzle involves observing an animated machine in action and delivering memory bubbles to restore her understanding of how her memory machine works.

Players use gaze or position to “tune in” to one of five TVs. Each screen reshapes the environment with themed 3D props and fish behavior.

Fish respond to broadcasts and request help in small, themed quests.

There may be more than one solution to the quest. Players can indulge or redirect the fish by using memory bubbles to spark reflection.

I created this demo to learn the Viverse pipeline and test different features. It was created with style and tone in mind, although still requires polish around art, mechanics, and sound.

Remind [inventor fish] how the memory machine works. You can watch the animation on the machine to learn the right order of how it operates. 

The machine is a looping animation-empty bubbles are currently being produced in an animated sequence and floating out.

Dialog response: How do you use the machine?

Dialog response: Ah, I see. Are my words all inside the machine?

Dialog response: Bubble! That’s it! These are my memories!

 after watching non-stop flake commercials. You must hold Ultimate Flake advertising while doing the flake dance routine to get a “Ultimate Flake.”

Watch the TV program and Ultimate Flake ads start to appear around you

Pickup one of the grabbable ads and do the fish dance at the top level in order to trigger the Ultimate Flake to drop

Bring back the ultimate flake and the fish celebrate the brand, wanting more

 (near the cave) and offer it instead for the fish to try making their own tasty flakes

A TV shows short clips, each hinting at a big reveal ("Coming up next!"). Fish keep chanting: “Almost there! / The next one’s the one!”

Watching the TV builds up the crowd of fish cheering around you

Deliver a bubble that reminds the fish that the reveal never happens

Two TVs share heated propaganda about a specific group of fish.

Fish from different sides now appear in absurd versions of the stereotypes on TV (e.g. one side sees the other as “evil fish cannibals” while the other sees them as “mindless bubble poppers”).

Walk between the two sides. By switching out 3D models, entering their zones and/or staring at the TV programming changes how the other side appears to you.

Use 1-2 memory bubbles showing a shared moment the two groups to break the illusion.

Pixel Fun 2001

Inspired by the nostalgia of early internet culture, 

 is a cyberspace dreamscape with an internet themed word-matching game. Players respond to silly prompts by sending pixelated “files” from their inventory. Each round, everyone submits a file (noun) to match the prompt (adjective), and then votes on their favorites. Winners can earn pixel points to unlock new files and upgrades.

Cardboard Paradise

Cardboard Paradise is a VR world that explores concepts of artificial scarcity and status through a virtual town built using real-world cardboard artifacts. The cardboard citizens in Cardboard Paradise, heavily influenced by billboards and slogans, dream of one day getting upgraded to Gold World. 

The world is sprinkled with artifacts that add to the lore as you wander - advertisements, characters, and buildings that offer a playful critique of this speculative future. The world is hosted on VRChat, and it supports multiplayer interaction and dialog. Wander through the neighborhood or grab cardboard panels to craft your own structures.

I chose cardboard, because it represents a material that is seen as cheap and low status, but it can also be used to create interesting art. 

Looking at artificial value in digital worlds - there’s no real reason that a virtual gold world would be any different than a virtual cardboard world, outside of this idea around status.

Having scanned 3D models of cardboard sculpture from previous projects, I brought them into VR one day, and appreciated the natural look of being around real-world objects in VR. Goldie, Karen and I then started designing a map and world to create Cardboard Paradise. We created more cardboard objects that we scanned in with either photography (for 2D transparent PNGs) or Polycam (for 3D objects).

This world is primarily a spot to explore and spend time with people, but I added a few ways to build your own forts and sculptures in the world. This includes grabbing leaves off of trees, dipping them in plants to color them, and then placing them anywhere in 3D space. There's also a giant wheel that you can spin for an (impossible) chance to get upgraded to gold world.

Karen Tsang: 3D Art & Scanning, Fantastic Arcade Set Design

Jillian Nicole McCann: Fantastic Arcade Set Design

Cardboard Paradise joined the ‘real world’ at Fantastic Arcade 2024 at MOHA at the Baker Center.

Fishing with Bubbles

An arcade game that uses facial recognition to play.

Capture fish by blowing bubbles underwater! Tilt your head to direct the bubbles to the fish, but make sure not to hit any sharks.

Otherworld Philadelphia - Warehouse

The Warehouse is a art deco styled DJ room at Otherworld Philadelphia - a huge immersive space that features imaginary worlds with puzzles to solve. 

As part of the Psychojelly team, I developed a Touchdesigner system to control the lighting, UI/UX, and Ableton system. This UI included a hidden interactive puzzle experience for guests. After finding five symbols, guests can play with the DJ system to activate the puzzle screen. This lets them enter the symbols they found. They are then rewarded with audiovisual effects, as well as the final clue to unlock the larger puzzle.

planted

I wanted to bring the concept of a community garden into the virtual realm by creating an augmented reality (AR) experience where participants can plant virtual flowers. This immersive experience encourages visitors to reflect on their intentions and choose a flower that symbolizes their personal goals.

In this AR garden, I've selected five flowers that grow in the Mabel Davis wildflower area, each representing a different intention. For example, visitors selecting the intention of ‘strength’ are given a blanket flower, which is know for its resilience in droughts.

Using VPS (Visual Positioning System) technology, visitors can plant their chosen flower in a specific spot within the virtual garden. Once planted, these flowers will remain in place for others to see. Tapping on any flower will reveal its associated intention as words slowly float into the sky.

After planting their flower, visitors are encouraged to explore the area, where they can discover other art, poetry, and hidden surprises. This experience aims to foster a sense of community, learning, and personal growth through the beauty of nature.

https://laurenschroeder.8thwall.app/planted/

In order to access the full experience, ​open this link on a smart phone 

 in Austin, Texas. Alternatively, the link will take you to a desktop compatible version of the experience (with limited functionality) to try out.

Moontower Scavenger Hunt

The Austin Moontowers have awakened spirits from decades past. You can find the locations of the 5 moontower ghosts that have appeared in 'GHOST SPOTS'.

It is your job to photograph all 5 historical ghosts to complete the Moonlight Tower Photo Album.. and be rewarded with a ghostly meeting!

The historical moontowers of Austin aimed to facilitate outdoor activities after sunset, addressing the challenge of navigating in darkness.

In this immersive journey, we delve into the intriguing realm of five spectral entities inspired by authentic historic photographs from the Austin History Center. Captured during the moontowers' era in Austin (circa 1890-1920), these snapshots offer a glimpse into Austin's past. Surely, a lost ghost would be drawn to the moontowers that once illuminated their nightlife.

If you are in Austin, TX, try the experience here:

https://www.8thwall.com/laurenschroeder/moontower

Austin's First Ambulance, photograph, 1910; (

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth124253/m1/1/:

 accessed March 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, 

; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

Capt. Drannon -- Chief of Scouts, photograph, November 25, 1906; (

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth703959/m1/1/:

[Man in a Car on Riverside Drive, Austin], photograph, December 1, 1913; (

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth704028/m1/1/:

Stephenson, Mrs. Charles (Grace Murray). [Emancipation Day Celebration band, June 19, 1900], photograph, June 19, 1900; (

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth124054/m1/1/:

[Three students of the University of Texas School of Military Aeronautics on the lawn in front of the Old Main building, Austin, Texas], photograph, 1917/1919; (

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth124222/m1/1/:

[Woman standing with a bicycle with balloon tires], photograph, 1900~; (

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth124160/m1/1/:

https://www.flaticon.com/free-icons/album

https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-models/sports/equipment/bicycle-lowpoly-free

https://www.cgtrader.com/items/3977566/download-page

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_Moontower_at_Night.jpg

Light Up the Solstice (Mixed Reality Experience)

'Light Up the Solstice' is an immersive WebAR experience that integrates hand tracking into a short game where you can learn more about solstice traditions. It was built using AR technologies of 8th Wall (for hand-tracking integration) and A-Frame. 

Gently wave your hand across paper artifacts, bringing them to life with informative narratives. Each artifact represents a unique winter solstice tradition from various cultures around the world: from ancient rituals celebrating the rebirth of the sun to modern-day customs that bridge the past and the present.



Eldridge, Alison. "7 Winter Solstice Celebrations From Around the World". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Dec. 2013, https://www.britannica.com/list/7-winter-solstice-celebrations-from-around-the-world


Greaney, Susan. "Here comes the sun! Stonehenge and the summer solstice". The British Museum. 15 June 2022.https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/here-comes-sun-stonehenge-and-summer-solstice


Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.1.8–9; Jane Chance, Medieval Mythography: From Roman North Africa to the School of Chartres, A.D. 433–1177 (University Press of Florida, 1994), p. 71.


Holiday Village

Drawing over a screen with a 3D model of the village let people see these colors show up as animated textures in the village in front of them.

We used texture streaming from Blender to Touchdesigner in order to be able to draw on a 3D model of the village, and have it show up as animated textures.

I created a custom plugin for Blender to be able to choose animations to 'paint' onto the village.

The Worst Pets

This was a project that I created to learn more about interactive fiction. I wanted to make something chaotic and silly, and included some basic illustrations of different scenes. I submitted this to inkJam 2023.

Cloud Organ (VR Experience)

An VR drumming experience prototype where you enter an ethereal cloudscape in order to play melodies and explore sounds in an interactive environment. Additional levels that incorporate beat sequencing and a mission are currently in development and set to release summer of 2024.

A demo of the first level was created for Austin Studio Tour 2023.

Salamander quest

Song name: Quest for the Blind Salamander

This song is inspired by the Youtube video posted below. So much adventure, yearning, and danger.

Big Swan Times

Big Swan Times shares the latest news, opinions, and puzzles from America’s sweetest non-town founded by a swan and raised by cherubs. Proud publishers of news, opinions, puzzles from beloved residents of this fantastic place.

We’re a duo located in Austin Texas that is creating a zine newsletter from a fictional town obsessed with cherubs. Lauren Schroeder is a new media artist and Jack Welter specializes in creative writing. 


1000 Hands Tapestry

"1000 Hands" is a 50' tall fabric piece depicting a fiery landscape by day and illuminated scene by night. This work intends to spark commentary and reflection on our climate reality and collective action.

I worked along with another engineer, Janitha Karunaratne, on the tech and lighting for the tapestry. I used Touchdesigner to control all of the lighting in a synchronous way, as well as integrate music reactivity to the tapestry.

We used 10 strands of 50 foot LED bulbs for the backdrop, floodlights in the trusses (Modtruss), led strips for the top spires, and small pebble lights for the sun. 

We used a router to send Touchdesigner ArtNet (DMX) data to the lights from the laptop.

We were fortunate to have access to a Burning Man scarab (solar trailer), to power all of the lighting and equipment used for the art piece. 

Cosmic Tea (VR Game)

Immerse yourself in a breathtaking journey of sight and sound with "Cosmic Tea," an atmospheric virtual reality (VR) game that invites you to unlock the secrets of a mesmerizing world.

Every morning, an attendant must conduct a ceremony in order for the sun to rise. Today, this is you.

Starlight must be delivered from the night sky into five different vessels in order to awaken the sun.

Use the Oculus grip to pick up the teapot, and use the joystick to navigate

This game was developed on a Quest 2 device.


Made for the VR Jam 2023. Theme: Special Delivery.

: Finally Got It (Instrumental) by The Wild Opus. Song Link: 

https://open.spotify.com/track/1wQxEzXfHWYFSUPXDz0KzP?si=c2cee56a4d6b4f0e

" (https://skfb.ly/6SwBR) by Valter Medeiros is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Join the Fold

An interactive survey experience for Github Universe 2024.

Conference attendees answered a survey on a tablet, which generated a custom hot hair balloon that floated into the projected scenery. Balloon design varied based on their answers, and selected long responses related to favorite projects were displayed on the projection screen.

This was created using an Unreal Engine environment with dynamic hot air balloons. Touchdesigner for the tablet survey application.

The Real Human Experience

LED programming for an immersive installation popup during Big Medium's Austin Studio Tour weekend. The Real Human Experience simulates a travel agency + bar, which is run by aliens pretending to be humans.

I used Touchdesigner to add light patterns to 5 different areas within the experience.

Squiggle

As part of an Art Blocks event featuring a Jamie xx DJ set, we created a VJ system that would add sound reactivity to specific squiggles based on their hash. 

I used the p5 audio library to add movement to squiggles. This was used as part of a live VJ performance by Dom Davis, with the browser output being fed into Touchdesigner.

Enchanted Wishing Well

Created for The Very 'Rary event at the Austin Contemporary at Laguna-Gloria. This was a event where families and donors came to enjoy the sculpture garden with a series of interactive popups.

We built a wishing well for kids to be able to make a wish and see fairies respond. It included a custom soundtrack, fairy actress, fabric canopy, and visual projections, all combined to create a magical atmosphere.

I created a program to detect when a coin falls into the wall, and project fairy-themed visuals onto the ceiling of the 'Temple of Love'.

Built using Kinect device, Touchdesigner.

Haunted Graveyard

Created for the Art Island 'Past Lives Ball'

Gravestones were projection mapped with animations and video clips. Interacting with the books in front of each gravestone changed visuals - the gargoyle's expression, or the clip that was being played.

Duck Island

In considering what we'd want to see floating around in a pool, a giant pile of ducks came to mind. A plastic superorganism.

An accelerometer is used to measure turbulence in the water, and ducks will respond through quacking. Visuals displayed on a television installation were also synced to the movement via Bluetooth.

Pinata Station (VR Game) 

A small game created for the VR game jam using Unreal engine and built for Oculus Quest devices.

Solve puzzles and collect all of the candy.

Mycelium Vision

Mycelium Vision pulls celestial interaction into an immersive lounge. 

In an imagined forest decorated with light projections and giant mushrooms, Mycelium Vision invites visitors to slow down and reflect on the enormity of the world above and below.

Projection mapping was set up using Touchdesigner, with an integrated Kinect device for galaxy motion interaction. We mapped glowing orbs over the heads of people in the space- distant bodies of light accompanying visitors. Mushroom cutouts were CNC'd to be used as an extra dimension of projection surface.

Wizard's Library

An audiovisual installation for Austin Music Foundation's music & tech mixer. Spellbooks add to the music by triggering loops and changes to analog sound.

Light Brite

Inspired by that 90s LITE BRITE toy, where you create pictures by adding bulbs onto a grid, I decided make a digital version that integrated into a simple game.


I wanted to try importing hand-drawn art into a game, so a drew some isometric tiles that would work as the grid and lightbulb. I scanned them, cleaned them up, and imported them into Unity to create the game.


It works similarly to casual farming games - you have to plant bulbs, power them, and they grow to generate light. I was thinking of how power arrays connect, and imagined an array of linked lightbulbs.

Sound Wall

Inspired by being able to 'pop' giant bubbles, we created a wall installation that made sounds when people touched shapes. They were able to use their hands or custom drumsticks. They were even able to high-five each other.

Dancefloor Totem

A totem that turns your dance moves into dancefloor visualizations. The totem can track your movement and change the visualizations that are being projected in front of the dancefloor. A CNC'd LED totem, houses the hardware to visualize movement through a digital projection.

Underwater Lullabies

An arcade game that implements voice pitch analysis to control zaps.


I made this game as part of an exploration into vocal control and pitch parsing. After singing into the microphone, the sound is analyzed and used to shoot zaps at different heights, corresponding to the vocal frequency.


The sense of urgency combined with trying to hit high and low notes made it hilarious to play with someone else.

rabbits work and work

An idle clicker game where the rabbits do most of the work for you. Their productivity increases through interactions with eachother.

LAUREN SCHROEDER

Digital Experiences

LAUREN SCHROEDER

Digital Experiences

Super Mom Training Gym

An art game for gallery spaces that illustrates the superhero strength needed in becoming a mother.

Spatial Architect (Prototype)

Mixed-reality training tool that teaches artists 3D spatial motor control

GEOGROOVE

Audiovisual mixed reality experience

Cloud Pup Choir

Catch falling notes to make music

Dancestar Dream

Swipe to the beat to become a dance star

Pixel Fun 2001

Old-internet world with a word-matching game

Cardboard Paradise

Social VR Cardboard World

Fishing with Bubbles

Face-activated AR arcade game

planted

An AR community garden

Moontower Scavenger Hunt

An AR scavenger ghost hunt

Light Up the Solstice (Mixed Reality Experience)

A mixed reality hand-tracking experience for learning about solstice traditions

Cloud Organ (VR Experience)

VR instrument with interactive sound and visuals

Cosmic Tea (VR Game)

Atmospheric VR puzzle - fill vessels with starlight

Light Brite

Grow a design using lightbulbs.

Underwater Lullabies

Sing into microphone to zap monsters