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Rachel Li's Portfolio

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▷ Red Yellow Blue
1. Red Yellow Blue
2018
Interactive Immersive Installation
Google Cardboard, Unity, Audio, Wood, Fabric, Wooden Bench, Glowing stickers, Inflatable Float. 

This piece consists of three virtual scenes displayed in VR headsets placed in three separate spaces within the exhibition room. In each scene, the viewer is placed in specific locations--public bathroom, children's park, and hotel room, with a child. The seemingly childish and innocent but subtly eerie and sexual scenes confronts viewer to make an association usually perceived as shameful and prohibited--that of children with sexuality. Such is an attempt to raise awareness on the issue of child sexual abuse, especially on a recent incident that took place in a kindergarten named 红黄蓝 (Red Yellow Blue) in Beijing, China, where dozens of kids were more than once drugged and sexually assaulted. Even worse than what happened to them, the fact that the children are still uninformed and confused of this evil crime after it took place, and that the parents still decided to hide the truth from them, is seemingly a form of protection from pain and trauma,  but in reality a dangerous decision to favor superficial social approval and the so-called "virtue" over proper education and effective prevention of future occurrences.  Only if we get our heads, and those of our children, out of the sand and understand the necessity of proper education can we start to cope with and eventually stop such tragedy.

Exhibition Images

▷ R.E.D.
2. R.E.D.
2017
Immersive interactive installation
Red Yarn, Fur, Sand, Wall Paint, Chrome Box
Collaboration with Nicole Wang, Runa Yu
A relatively private space for viewers in the middle of an exhibition room lit in red that consists of a red chair facing an old-fashioned TV stacked on top of a pedestal painted in red, all of which placed on top of a white furry rug covered in red sand. On the TV screen one can see the real-time video of themselves captured by a webcam right on top of the TV. Viewers are allowed, but not instructed to enter the middle area and interact with the various elements in it. Distinct types of audio files such as the audio story of The Call of Cthulhu by H.P Lovecraft and racist jokes found on the internet are played and can be heard through the headphones. At the exit of the exhibition room,viewers see the exact same video capture of themselves a moment ago projected on a large flat screen television and find out that they are in a YouTube live broadcast the whole time, with people leaving public comments about their faces and actions.
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▷ Oceanside
3. Oceanside
2018
Walking Simulator for class project
Position: Level Design, 3D modeler, Programmer, Animator
Made in Unity

A first person walking simulator about a robot programmed to recycle trash on a deserted island and generate electricity to power the human city above. Interested in exploring how a story can be told through the game environment and level design alone, we wish for the players to gradually uncover the identity of the protagonist and her surroundings through the trash collected, the gloomy environment, and the anonymous instructions given on the screen. 

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▷ Vampire Simulation
4.Vampire Simulation(Video Walkthrough)
2017
VR game.
Position: Level designer, 3D Modeler.
An experimental game of a person transforming into a vampire and catching its prey. A medium-specific attempt on story-telling in VR. Mechanics such as displaying separate images for each eye or physically simulating stealth actions offers innovative approaches to VR narrative and gameplay.
 
Video Breakdown
0:04- Chapter 1 Mystery  Player navigate an unknown space as a human, controlling with a Oculus controller. Player understands the space by navigating and looking at various objects.
1:42-Chapter 2 Transformation Player gets trapped in a room, unable to move. They are then stabbed in one eye by a needle and were injected vampire blood. Player transforms into a vampire, who sees the room in an entirely different way. Here we experiment with the feeling of being given a different view for each eye, a mechanic specific to graphic display in VR. 
2:50Chapter 3 Stealth As a vampire, player now moves by slightly slanting their body to one side, a way of simulating the drifting of a ghost or supernatural creature. Player now tries to look for their first prey in a house. 
4:15- Right before the player can approach the girl in the yellow lit room, player encounters a sleeping wolf that blocks the way. Player must crouch and move slowly, or they will startle the wolf and get eaten. Here we experiment the potential of stealth in VR and play with the impact of different scales.  
5:12 Chapter 4 A Familiar Place Player returns to the first scene in the game, now seeing it through the eyes of the vampire. While certain questions are answers, more doubts arise. Where is this place? Who is the girl?We wish to leave the story open ended and initiate thought and imagination.
▷ How To Become An Internet Celebrity
5. How To Become An Internet Celebrity
2018
Visual Novel for class project
Made in Unity

Player acts as a viewer who encounters an newbie streamer who wishes to gain more viewers.

Player helps her gain popularity by making a series of choices and suggestions. 

What are broadcasters famous for? Why would dozens of thousands of people watch someone eat everyday and pay for it?  The game invites players to observe the increasingly popular industry of streaming in China, where people not only broadcast themselves gaming or performing a talent, but every bit of their ordinary life such as eating, and chit-chatting with viewers in an unique way.

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▷ Hit&Run
6.Hit & Run (Video Demo)
2017
Oil on Canvas, Processing, Makey-Makey
A two-player racing game where players smash their paintings repeatedly to move their avatar and reach the finish line on the other side of the screen. By transforming viewers into players, this piece is an attempt to question the pre-existing notion of art and challenge the “proper” way of treating an artwork.
Other Works
▷ Other Works
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