I thought chatbots were pretty old and outdated until I *met* Mitsuku last semester as part of another IM class. It was really interesting that this chatbot was in a human form. The homepage states that she’s a “four-time winner of the Loebner Prize turing test, so I gave her a try – or rather, a lot of tries because she actually turned out to be interesting!
Mitsuku’s answers may not always be fitting, but she has a lot of different answers on stock. I find it interesting that this chatbot almost gives an impression of a real person, which makes the conversation more exciting and interesting, regardless of whether the whole content makes sense or not. It’s interesting because you wouldn’t expect such complicated, sophisticated answers from the computer that just isn’t human.
I read a paper a while back that talks about how believable these chatbots have become. Some people have actually started treating these chatbots as their real counselors because of certain traits that they possess. For example, chatbots often repeat some phrases of the sentence that you write, which is what counselors and psychologists often do to turn the conversation’s focus back to the patient/speaker. The preset algorithm makes these chatbots particularly successful in giving the impression that they possess human qualities. I find this human-machine interaction very fascinating and see a lot of potential in developing this field.
Welcome to Nerudia, a mystical land of trees, mountains, and all things mother nature!
demo videoNerudia at a glance
Projection Description:
Nerudia is a nature-filled land characterised by its tall hills, bountiful trees, plants and rocks. I’ve chosen “mystical” and “grandiose” as my main direction for the identity of Nerudia.
Process and Implementation:
Knowing that I wanted to create a grandiose effect with tall mountains and hills, I started playing with the terrain feature to experiment with different heights for the ground. I initially built mountains and trees all around but after quickly realizing not all this will be visible from a single point where I put the player, I redesigned it so that the tall hills are on one side. I ensured the other side is more sparsely packed with trees and with shorter ones as well, so as to emphasize the tall hills more and create a contrast between the two. Building contrasting materials is a design strategy that I’ve repeatedly used for this project – emphasizing something and making it pop out more by creating others that are unlike it.
To add to the grandiose component, I decided to add a Mother Tree for Nerudia – an evident landmark that is symbolic of the place. So I placed a giant tree on top of the mountain, so the player can look up from the ground and really feel the power of its size and elevation. Again to make the Mother Tree stand out more, I made sure all the other plants and trees were properly colored green. I also added a Directional Light that lights the hills up from the bottom to brighten up the hills and Mother Tree more.
view of Mother Tree from below
I also experimented with the color and texture of the mother tree leaves, and eventually went with a glass reflective material I found in the Asset Store. I also decided that color was key to tackling the “mystic” identity. To do this, I looked for various different textures that I could apply to the hills and mountains. I discovered a purple-blue-neon-colored stripes that added lava-like effect to the hills. I was careful not to overuse it and applied it only here and there to build up to the hills and the Mother Tree.
On the other side of the hills, I left the space less dense and only populated it with small plants so the player is not overwhelmed with too many materials around him/her. This relatively empty space was to create some breathing space for the land and the player. I also designed and made some stone-like structures to place around the ground. I also designed and made some stone-like structures to place around the ground.
Reflection/Evaluation:
I think Nerudia turned out quite well and I’m happy with its overall design and aesthetics. I’ve asked for feedback from my friends and they agreed that they felt the “grandiose and mystic” vibes from Nerudia. One friend even commented that she felt like “going on an adventure up the hills.” Designing a concept that suited the identity was central to my goals for this project so I was happy to hear that my friends agreed.
In the beginning, I was struggling with how to convey the “mystical” element because before adding the neon texture, it looked like a normal forest to me. Searching for an interesting texture really helped my concept and I think it played a big role in shaping the identity of Nerudia. Both the color scheme and the use of glass reflective material for the Mother Tree really defined the “alternative world” for me – something that we can identify as making sense but is different from the norm and what we expected. In other words, we would expect to see leaves on trees, but might not anticipate them being made of glass materials. Similiarly, we would expect to see mountains to be green in most cases, not some neon-colored stripes running down the hills.
I’ve been having issues positioning the camera – no matter how much I change its position, it goes back to default when I press play in Game View.
After much experimentation and going back and forth, I realized there were a few causes for this, including having more than one camera and the fact that the player’s position can be moved around – this is essentially what you see when you hit play, not the position of the camera.
So after setting the position, I’ve been moving things around to make sure everything is visible from this single point.
I’ve added a new texture in the shade of purple, blue and white that runs all over the hilly terrain. It creates a lava-like effect and makes the mountains pop out more, thus adding more to the mystic atmosphere.
I’ve also built in a big tree on the top of the hills, which almost looks like a “mother tree” to this place. The leaves are light-reflective and very different from the other trees in the place.
top viewfront view
Things I need to keep in mind:
decide on the camera position and make sure the environment is fully visible from there (make sure nothing is hidden)
test run to see the VR space is working 360 degrees
For my assignment, I’ve started creating some hills using the terrain function. I’m trying to build mountains that build up towards the center to create a grandiose atmosphere. I added a sky background to make it look almost like this place is floating in mid-air.
view from frontbird’s eye view
It took me some time and test runs to build this base as I was experimenting with different textures and different heights for the mountains.
Moving on, I’ll work on how to emphasize the ‘grandiose’ aspect more. I want to make this environment somewhat mystical and other-worldy, suggestive of some kind of mysterious forces within.
During winter break, I visited a less well-known bookstore back home in Seoul and it quickly became one of my favorite spots in the city.
I liked the place because it was very different from other bookstores – it looked almost like an old but polished hotel in Europe. The staircases were decorated with wave-like ornaments, the ceilings were lit with chandeliers, and the whole building was pretty quiet with some slow and quiet instrumental music playing in the background.
This bookstore was divided into three parts. the first floor was dedicated to providing a quiet spot for people who wanted to borrow books and read on their own. Various types of comfy chairs were spread out throughout the floor, with book shelves dividing the space between them so you could read in peace privately. You could also choose from a number of tea options to sip on while doing some leisure reading.
The second floor was a regular book store where you could purchase books and get food or drinks from the cafe section. The third floor featured a rooftop with outdoor seatings as well as a magnificent view of the city. It was too cold to read outside this winter but I could imagine this place being a perfect getaway for people wanting to find an exciting new place to read.
I really liked the bookstore because the whole environment serves its purpose well: stocking the place with books, providing ample space with different types of comfortable chairs/tables, offering drinks/snacks and creating a relaxing atmosphere to make a relaxing experience for readers. It’s functional, its aesthetics are on point, and it fulfills (perhaps even surpasses) my expectations of what a bookstore should be like. I also like how it grants me a private and safe space while still being connected to the world – through books, view of the city on the rooftop, as well as with the other readers in the space.
spacious & cosy reading spacesway to the rooftoprooftop aesthetics!
