Julia Robinson
The Scavenger
The Scavenger (2022)


A collaborative project for the course Immersive Storytelling within Carleton's University's Information Technology section.
Want to see the final project in full view?
https://www.youtube.co/watch?v=6nCQ2L2AWFo
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The Scavenger is a virtual reality film, set in the dystopian version of 2122 within Nevada, U.S.A. The eponymous scavenger makes his living by finding lost artifacts and selling them for a profit, but his greedy ways may soon put him in harm's way. It is up to the user to help him escape and teach him the ways of caution. While the final version was a collaborative effort with fellow classmates Sara Mizannojehdehi and Danielle Nagy, the story, character and set design were all completed by me. See below for a full breakdown of the artistic process!
In the course, we had received the chosen theme: The year 2122. We were free to individually decide what plot we wanted as long as we followed that specific theme. Afterwards, we were expected to develop a project treatment, a breakdown of the characters, plot and real-world necessities of the virtual reality film we were creating. After a series of individual assignments based around developing our stories, we formed groups to bring one of them to life in Unity.
The most important factor in producing any film is the storyboard. Designing a storyboard for VR films is separate to regular film, as there are different specifications to consider. When items close to the viewer are too close to the line of vision, the user gets nauseous from motion sickness. This was part of the considerations for the film, to keep characters and objects a safe distance away but still within the line of vision.
The next step was to create a demo animation. This was done through practical effects, clay and plasticine. This enabled my production for allowing me the opportunity to express my vision while also keeping an eye out for any potential issues that could arise later.
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Robinson, Julia. “The Scavenger: Unity Demo Series.”. 31 Mar. 2022
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The next step was to begin creating the environment in Unity. An individual project, the scenery in The Scavenger is heavily influenced by Nevada's surrounding landscape, as well as images of fantastical crystal caves. I wanted to provide that mixture of warm tones in a natural environment with cool tones within an eerie environment to match the story and its message of caution.
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The demo and final versions of the project are slightly different, due to both technological and practical concerns. The final version was a collaboration with others who acquired a different skill set that needed to be respected and fairly applied to the project. Video animations in Unity required a more extensive process than what I was able to manipulate through practical effects, and were limited in the range of actions the character could do. However, I was very pleased with what we were able to accomplish in a span of a month.
