The Cursed Bear
Spatial Multiplayer Gameplay System
A competitive, story-driven VR tag experience built on a spherical world with live spectator and narration systems.
Role: Game & Spatial Designer, Systems Developer
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Tools: Unity, XR Systems, Spatial Design
Project Overview
The Challenge
The Goal
The project began as a senior-level virtual reality assignment to create a multiplayer VR game of tag that included narrative context, power-ups, and a fully playable spherical world instead of a traditional flat environment. The technical challenge was designing movement, interaction, and multiplayer synchronization on a curved surface while maintaining clarity, fairness, and performance across multiple players.
Build a fast, readable, and entertaining multiplayer VR experience that combined physical movement, narrative framing, and live spectating, turning a class project into a playable public-facing experience.
My Role
Game & Spatial Designer, Systems Developer
I worked as part of a small development team, focusing on environment design, gameplay systems, and core Unity development. I led the visual and spatial design of the spherical forest world, contributed to multiplayer and power-up systems, and designed the full audio experience. I also helped develop the live “narrator view” system used for public presentation and commentary.
Systems Design
Multiplayer Tag & Power-Up System
Designed the core gameplay loop where the “cursed bear” role transfers between players through tagging. This included movement mechanics on a spherical surface, power-ups such as boost, teleportation, and player pushback, and inverse effects for the active tagger to maintain balance and pacing.
Spectator & Narration System
Built a dedicated overhead camera system that tracked the active “cursed” player in real time. This allowed commentators and audiences to follow the match, transforming a private VR experience into a live, watchable event.
Development Highlights
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Implemented spherical-world movement and navigation systems in Unity
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Built multiplayer logic and synchronization for player state and power-ups
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Designed environmental set dressing and world layout for visual readability
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Created a real-time spectator camera for live narration and projection
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Designed and implemented full audio system for atmosphere and feedback
Player View
Spectator View
Game Trailer
Animation Demo
Outcome & Takeaways
What Worked
The spectator system transformed the project from a multiplayer game into a live performance experience, making VR readable and engaging for audiences who were not wearing headsets.
What I'd Improve
I would invest more time in network optimization and performance tuning to support higher player counts and lower-latency multiplayer sessions in more demanding hardware environments.
What the Project Shaped
This project defined my foundation in Unity, multiplayer design, and real-time systems. It taught me how to design not just for players, but for observers, turning an interactive experience into something that could be shared and performed.
Project Status
Completed
Jan. 2024 - May 2024