Burning the Gaspee VR
VR Education - Arizona State University
A narrative-driven VR experience dramatising the events leading to the American Revolution.
Arizona State University — the leading US university for innovation — wanted a groundbreaking VR project for their online high school, ASU Prep Digital. The goal was to dramatise the events leading to the American Revolution through an immersive, narrative-driven learning experience that could run on mobile VR.
The result was Burning the Gaspee: a self-paced VR experience where students navigate a maritime environment, interacting with historical artefacts, animated maps, illustrated sequences, 360° live-action footage and fully modelled 3D environments. The storyboard alone ran to 100 pages.
I was responsible for the creative, art direction and UX design from initial proposal through to delivery. I developed the design document and script, created rough storyboards, briefed and directed a team of illustrators, 3D modellers, animators, voice actors, musicians and developers, and oversaw technical implementation and QA. Accessibility was a core consideration — Google Cardboard was chosen so distance learners without high-end hardware could still participate.
