Jo's Dream of Growing Something Outside is an immersive narrative which tells the story of a madly driven botanist and his dream to grow a tree on the toxic surface of his planet. I created the 3D environment to help tell Jo's story, as if you were visiting his cave some years after his death. I wanted the cave's peacefulness and vibrance to contrast to the harsh, desaturated outside world, like an embodiment of hope. I was greatly inspired by the narratives of 'Dune' and 'Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,' specifically the stories of self sacrifice in order to create life on a toxic/barren planet. The works aesthetics were inspired from images from these films as well as the sci-fi artworks of Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud. I also looked at the colors, patterns and forms of Bryce Canyon and The Grand Canyon to inform the natural elements. All materials used with exception to the skybox and terrain were digitally painted and had very little sheen in order to create the matte, comic or animation appearance I was aiming for. I used very simple rectangular particle effects to build the atmosphere alongside the sparse soundscape. Jo’s Story is narrated by me and with the help from sequenced lanterns, drives the exploration of the cave. 

Hi! My name is Hugo. I was practically raised on Studio Ghibli and Adventure Time which inspired my love for storytelling, especially that of sci-fi-fantasy stories of humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Early on, my favorite things to do in school were creative writing and drawing, but I always felt like there was a more immersive way to tell my stories. Dungeons and Dragons was one of those ways, and I would spend days on end creating isometric maps, soundscapes and figurines to immerse my players as deeply as I could into the world their characters roamed. It felt only natural that by the end of high school I was slowly learning how to create 3D worlds, creating a short animation and a VR experience for my major works. Since then I have tried to imbue a story into every work I create or help to create.