As I mentioned in a previous posting, I’m in the process of creating a meditation space for myself to relax in. Today, I wanted to discuss one of the scenes I’m specifically working on, that I’m calling Thunderstorm Forest.
If we set the way back machine for 2014, I had just started investing heavily into the Unity platform, with particular focus on Unity 4 and the possibility of having Android applications. One of the tools I put together (even way back then) was a kind of timed meditation app, that would display a particular image or scene with relevant sound effects. There are a number of apps like this out there (calm specifically comes to mind) but because I put this together for me, it was more personalized by default.
Fast forward a few years and me obtaining the necessary equipment to make virtual reality environments (as well as overall improvements to the tools at my disposal to make ‘better’ scenarios). I knew that as I was starting to experiment with and explore virtual reality locations to find the right place for a mini-golf game, that I would have to create an environment for me to just watch the sunset and relax in as well.
But the immediate follow-up thought to that was, why not also have a place in the woods during an evening thunderstorm, like your old app for the Android?
I actually wound up digging out the exact same forest asset that I had in my library, incorporated a much-better thunderstorm toolset, and then set out to create an indoor space that would allow me to ‘sit peacefully’ inside the storm.
I created a two-part ‘interior’ environment. One was a simple room with a three-candle display on a small table. In this room (without other distractions), I could watch the candles flicker while the muted storm could be heard outside.
The other was a large, circular glass area with a large, curved chair (make of wicker) and a handful of decorative items that could be picked up or moved about as necessary. From this area, you could see the rain falling outside, see the flashes of light and/or lightning in the sky, and of course, hear the full effects of the storm (wind, rain, thunder, etc.).
While admittedly, most of the other scenes that I’ve created up to this point have been more or less ‘eye-candy’ and things to look at in an effort to distract rather than clear my mind, Thunderstorm Forest was created to be just a simple environment to relax within: a thunderstorm in the middle of nowhere.
And while I realize the image at the top of this article is a little dark, I enjoy creating scenes at night and have dimmed most of the environmental lights to better appreciate the storm. The screenshot above is from when there was a nearby lightning strike, to give an idea on how the interior house looks. You can’t enjoy a good thunderstorm if the lightning isn’t mysterious and the only thing providing illumination, eh?
Not surprisingly, the handful of people I asked to test out my various locations earlier this week said that this one felt the most ‘at home’ with my intended purpose to be able to relax in a virtual landscape. I’m hoping to carry this into my next location that I’m planning to refine and build: Lava World.