Evocative Image

Thesis

The Ascent is a virtual reality game providing the experience of an arborist climbing a tree to retrieve its seeds. When playing The Ascent you use handholds on the tree along with adhesive climbing nails that you can place as artificial handholds to propel yourself up the tree. As an arborist, you must use these mechanics to collect seeds.

Inspiration from the Arboretum

Precedents - The Climb

Precedents

The Dawn Redwood is a gargantuan pine tree standing up to 100 meters tall. The tree was once thought to be extinct and dates back from before the ice age. The tree itself can live for centuries and was brought to the arboretum from china.

Dawn Redwood

Conceptual Sketches

Originally I had two design ideas, navigating through a forest of trees and climbing up a singular tree. These two sketches portray both concepts.

CoSpaces Prototype

• Migrated to unity
• Can climb via VR controllers
• Low poly tree model added

Unity Prototype

Technical Sketch

Mechanics Summary

The player can use their VR controllers to propel their body with the use of handholds. However, the player's hands have stamina that depletes if the grips are clamped too hard or too little. The stamina meter forces the player to regulate their grab force similar to professional climbers.

Final Demo