An immersive VR adventure that turns environmental conservation into an interactive game. Players use physical axes and spray tools to chop down invasive trees, spray away weeds, and restore the forest ecosystem in real time while learning how to protect native Illinois plants
Highlights
🏆 Finalist for the International Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) 2026 Student Design Competition
My Role: 3D Interaction Design • VR Design • UX Research
(collaborated in a team of 3)
The Core Challenge: Adapting to software constraints (Unity 2019 / CAVE2 environment) under tight deadlines leading to rapid self-directed learning in C# scripting, version control workflows in GitHub, and creative technical troubleshooting.
Tools & Methods: CAVE2 VR Simulator, Unity (2019.2), Autodesk Maya, C# / GitHub, AI-Assisted Debugging, Iterative User Testing, 3D Spatial Design.
The Environmental Problem
Illinois forests are facing severe, long-term biodiversity loss because aggressive invasive plant species are quietly outcompeting native plants and taking over local ecosystems.
Goal
- Raise public awareness about the quiet threat of invasive plant species in Illinois forests.
- Blend education with gameplay to keep environmental learning engaging and hands-on.
- Teach players to distinguish between native Illinois plants and invasive species.
Research Methods
Scientific & Ecological Research
We read up on scientific forestry articles and real Illinois plant data before building the game. This ensured all our in-game mechanics, plant models, and environmental facts were 100% accurate.
Grouping User Feedback
After sorting through raw player feedback, we discovered players had a hard time telling native plants apart from invasive ones! This insight showed us exactly what we needed to teach through gameplay.
VR & Storytelling Inspiration
We studied successful VR games to see how they used physical interaction and storytelling to keep players hooked. This inspired how we designed our tool controls and forest environment for the CAVE2 simulator.
Research Images
Technical Challenges & Workflow Adaptations
We originally planned to pull pre-made environmental assets straight from the Unity Asset Store to build out our world quickly. However, our project’s specific Unity version was incompatible with the store’s assets, limiting what to download.
To combat this, we used Maya to model our assets from scratch, used YouTube tutorials, each other, and AI tools to quickly teach ourselves Unity C# scripting and custom texturing techniques.
Collaborative VR Workflows
Because our version of Unity did not support simultaneous editing, our team created a workflow using GitHub to avoid merge conflicts. We uploaded files one at a time and worked on designated tasks to keep the project organized and prevent accidental changes to another teammate’s work.
As someone who had little experience with GitHub, my teammates helped me learn how to pull the latest project files and safely upload my own changes. This allowed me to integrate my design assets into the project without overwriting existing work while gaining experience with collaborative development workflows.
Technical Troubleshooting
When our team encountered technical issues in Unity that we were unsure how to resolve, we used Claude to support troubleshooting. By describing the problems we were facing, we were able to get suggestions for possible causes and debugging approaches. We then tested and discussed these solutions as a team, which helped us learn from each fix and stay on track for the CAVE2 exhibition deadline.
The Final CAVE2 VR Experience
Turned it into an open-world VR experience. We built a fully interactive game where players can step right into the CAVE2 simulator and completely immerse themselves in the environment.
Players use an axe to chop invasive trees and spray away invasive plants, using educational signboards to track their progress on saving the forest, and placing the native plants in the garden to gather facts as the environment slowly turns bright.
Management & Lessons Learned
The Challenge – Big Dreams vs. Tight Deadlines:
We originally wanted to build a massive, hyper-realistic VR Illinois forest, but we were constantly rushing to hit our weekly deadlines. Having to learn 3D modeling in Maya, C# scripting in Unity, and GitHub version control all at once was a huge learning curve under pressure!
Pivot Point – Cutting the Crunch & Focusing on What Mattered:
Everything clicked when we realized our world didn’t need to be hyper-detailed for players to learn about invasive species. To stop exhausting ourselves, we cut out grueling 6-hour crunch sessions and shifted to shorter, focused work blocks. This kept our team energized and helped us hit our CAVE2 exhibition deadline smoothly!
Future Iterations – Upgrading Unity & Live Playtesting:
If we had more time, my first step would be updating the project to a modern version of Unity so we wouldn’t be limited by legacy tools. From there, I’d bring broader groups into the CAVE2 simulator to watch how real players interact with our tool prompts and plant stations in real time.