The Tales of Us
VR Puzzle Game where you will be taking on a mythical journey by the artifacts in Sanxingdui, discover the tales and truth of their origin.
Design, Art & Coded by Freida (Jingyan) Hong
Story
#SanxingduiMystery #ArtifactPuzzle
This game narrates a dreamlike experience of an archaeology student (the player) while visiting the Sanxingdui Museum.
An unexpected accident happened during her visit, and when she opens her eyes again, the artifacts are replaced by its fragments in each display case. As she attempts to restore them and then succeed in piecing together these fragments, she discovers that these artifacts have developed their own personalities and starts to talk to her about their own origins.
Inspirations
#Learning #Cultural #InteractiveHeritage
My inspiration of this game came from an experience as a volunteer, when I translated for a British drama team along with the British ambassador of Wuhan during a cultural exchange event, where I led the embassy team and the crew to visit the local museum.
China has an ancient civilization and a very different language system with western civilizations, which means it's usually quite difficult to understand the relics’ backgrounds. Although many foreign visitors could appreciate them purely as artwork pieces, very few of them can truly understand the stories buried behind.
After that event, I wondered if games, something that is so intriguing, interactive and acceptable by most, could improve the visiting experience for visitors of any culture background to be more playful and enjoyable.
#ArchaeologicalExcavation #ClassicGames
Inspired by the processes of archaeological excavation and artifact restoration, I chose classic puzzle gameplay as the main mechanism. As a child, I always dreamed of sculptures coming to life to tell people what they had seen while standing for so long on the earth—like in Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale The Happy Prince or the Night at the Museum movie franchise. After all, who could be better suited to tell their own legends and stories than the themselves? This idea inspired me to design a feature where the relics "come to life" to share their own histories and tales—just as the game's title suggests, its “The Tales of Us”.
#TraditionalDesignConcepts #JohannesVermeer
The entire scene design draws inspiration from the mysterious, classical ambiance of the Sanxingdui Museum. The color palette is influenced by one of my favorite painters, Johannes Vermeer, seamlessly blending the deep blue of the starry sky, the golden hues of sunlight, and the bluish-green of bronze artifacts to create a harmonious final image. The square display platform and circular glass dome are based on the ancient Chinese cosmological concept that "Heaven is round, and Earth is square." The bronze tree disk symbolizes the sun and its golden bird messenger, rotating continuously to represent the passage of time. In the background, symbols from the ancient Shu civilization of the Sanxingdui period appear in a scroll format, unfolding elegantly across the scene.
Gameplay
#Straightforward #ImmersiveLearning
Players begin their journey at the entrance of a museum exhibition hall, exploring artifacts across two levels while reading their descriptions. Suddenly, the hall trembles, lights flicker, and display cases shatter, leaving the artifacts in fragments.
As their vision clears, players enter the first level, Bronze Mask, where they must piece together the broken artifact using a controller. Once restored, the mask comes to life, sharing its history and stories. The next level, Bronze Sacred Tree, follows a similar gameplay approach.
The game aims to make learning about artifacts more intuitive and engaging. By incorporating unexpected surprises, interactive puzzles, and immersive storytelling, it encourages players to closely examine each piece, deepening their appreciation and understanding in a memorable way.
Mechanism
#SimpleManipulated
Use the joystick to navigate between teleport points and explore the scene. Grab artifact fragments with the grip button, then push the joystick forward to move them to the puzzle destination. If the placement is close enough, the fragment snaps into place, completing the puzzle. If not, it falls, indicating failure.
Iteration History
#SmoothGamplay
Art
#Assets Development #Authentic
The Bronze Mask
Rough Model
Rig Ready
Details Sculpted
Textures Painted
Break into Pieces
I crafted the puzzle pieces of the mask into the shape of the nine provinces of the ancient Shu Kingdom map.
this is my hometown!
(in very ancient times of course :))
The Bronze Tree
Technical Art
#Mysterious #Futuristic
Animatable Hologram (Material)
Customizable Star field sky (Material)
God Rays (VFX)
Coding
# Making Antiques(Puzzles) Break in Pieces & Intractable
# Glass Shield Shatter
# Content Board Interactions
