top of page

Phantom Touch

170130178914840773_edited.jpg

You are in a different body

A place far away from everyone who knows you

What is left to tell who you are.. and who you want to be?

This VR story, created in unity3D, follows the journey of a female VRChat player who, while navigating her autism, begins to heal past traumas through virtual interactions with others. With an avatar of her choice and new ways to interact with others in VR social spaces, she challenges old rules that once confined her, rebuilding her connections with people and the world.

Through virtual intimacy and phantom touch, she discovers and embraces her true self, both in the virtual realm and in reality.

I am the co-producer, experience designer, audio designer

and co-researcher of this project, responsible for 3D environment design and user-experience flow.​

​​

Background

VRChat is a multiplayer VR game released in 2014 that can be played on VR headsets or on a PC. Everyone interacts behind 3D avatars, and virtual reality enhances the illusion/immersion that the people and environments you encounter are "real." 

Within this platform, people create their own bodies and worlds. Many connect with others who share similar interests or struggles. Some even sleep with their headsets on, fall in love with the individuals behind digital avatars, or engage in intimate experiences in private spaces. The vast number of maps and built-in interactions offer activities that mirror reality, casting new light on familiar experiences. Here, people live alternative lives, and most profoundly, some discover and express their true selves—both virtually and in reality—by adopting avatars that reflect who they aspire to be or how they wish to be seen.

Through the voice of a VRChat player named FriendlyGhost, who presents herself in a robotic model that preserves and escapes from her female identity, who lives with autism and hypersexuality, and takes on a robotic model to express herself safely in the virtual world, we delve into parasocial relationships and how they empower individuals to discover and express their true selves and desires. 

image.png
VRChat_2024-05-26_22-35-57.351_1920x1080.png
VRChat_2024-06-14_18-37-19.394_1920x1080.png
VRChat_2024-08-25_22-45-44.620_1920x1080.png

10-minute VR Playthrough Time

Process Overview   
7 Months, 3 People, 2 Interviewees, 1 story

Experience Designer: Felicity Chen

Producer: Felicity Chen & Hejunchao Researcher: Hejunchao Li & Felicity Chen

Lead programmer: Nova Lu

Level design: Felicity Chen

Audio Design: Felicity Chen

As the experience designer, also being the role of the producer and researcher, I collaborated with a multidisciplinary team to tell this story in an immersive and multisensory way.

Over seven months, I employed Agile methodologies to streamline workflows, designed and iterated user journeys, prototyped in Unity the 3D world designs of all the scenes, created immersive audio, and conducted comprehensive user research. 

#MA Immersive Factual Storytelling at UCL

#Unity3D

#Oculus Interaction SDK

#VRchat

2024.1

image.png

2024.2-2024.4

Degree
University Name

c19d4fd07876c83504fa9514db2c1b1.png

Research and interview:

At the stage of pre-production, the most difficult issue we came across is to build connections with potential users who have never used VR before, or envisioned the possibility of living another life online.

There's a key question we need to explore:​

"why can't people live their full potential as themselves?"

After months of researching, exploration, frustration, and countless interviews with strangers on VRchat, including queer communities, filmmakers, and full-body mo-cap dancers in VRchat, I met FriendlyGhost in a newly developed bar in VRchat, telling her story.

​​

Pitching the idea to the mentor panel:

We were clear about our vision: we wanted to tell a story through the voice of a female interviewee, focusing on the potential that virtual worlds and shared imagination offer for redefining our lives and identities by disassociating from our physical bodies and societal structures. We also aimed to challenge the construction of gender in the digital era. Although the concept initially lacked substance, the pitch was recognized for its strong potential and was selected to move forward.

2024.5-2024.7

image.png
image.png

​Ideation and paper Edit

Friendlyghost's journey of healing from personal trauma and understanding and navigting her autism within a controlled, safe online space serves as the foundation of our story. Her perspectives on real and virtual body representation, virtual intimacy, and her lived experience with autism add depth and nuance to our narrative.

As a team, we discussed the core strengths and potential weaknesses of the story, brainstorming ideas and drawing inspiration from museums, games, and films.

As the experience designer, I crafted the user flow based on the interview material, condensing a 4-hour recording into a 15-minute experience that faithfully represents the interviewee. My goal was to allow users to step into her shoes and explore the potential of living another life from her perspective.

 

Visual research and storyboard

 

517942892050483885.jpg
image.png
image.png
21786389483553080.jpg
image.png

Discarded Prototypes and narrative direction

Prototyping and grey box testing

During the prototyping phase, I was responsible for user flow design and scene mock-up building

Initially, we aimed to film 360° videos inside VRChat, but unable to due to hardware limitations and time constraints.

We also planned to include two interviewees—both women with a long-standing online presence and experience with parasocial relationships—and intended to link their stories through themes of female desire and virtual romance. However, user testing feedback revealed that the transition between the two stories was difficult to follow. We realized that trying to combine both narratives within our limited timeframe would sacrifice the nuances of each and risk not telling a single strong story. As a result, we decided to focus on one narrative to ensure depth and clarity.

During greybox testing, I played a key role in refining the user experience by testing and iterating according to feedback and evolving narraive. I worked closely with the team to identify areas for improvement, gather feedback, and make necessary adjustments. This process was crucial for identifying potential issues early and ensuring that the final design was both intuitive and effective.

To be continued...

Recognising its potential, we now continue to work on the story as a VR interactive documentary

image.png
bottom of page