Hoi Opa VR

Hoi opa

‘Hoi opa’ is a VR experience that was part of a collaborative VR exposition at ‘Het Nieuwe Instituut’ (The New Institute) Rotterdam.
‘Hoi opa’ is an environmental, story-driven experience about belonging, the connections between people, and remembering through objects.

As a kid, I was not very acquainted with my grandparents yet I have strong positive memories of them. Visiting them with my parents en exploring their houses with my cousins and hearing stories about them from my parents, aunts, and uncles gave me a strong sense of the people they were and makes me feel connected to my family. Understanding who you are is often a process of making sense your surroundings. This VR installation is an expression of this experience.

The attic is a fictive space designed to create this nostalgic sense of being amongst other peoples old stuff. The objects are a collection of 3d objects some are from a library and some are objects of my own brought into 3d space. Together they are forming a glimpse of the grandfathers presence in the story.

Here is an example of a book I brought into 3d grime and all. The books added a touch of personalty What do the books in the grandfathers collection say about him. They also served as a intractable object, giving the player a reason to explore the space.

The initial sketch for the space itself
The space designed in Blender
The lighting mockup done in Blender
Later it was brought back and refined in Unity

The design of the space went trough multiple phases finally settling on an attic space. Not only did it mirror my own experiences exploring my grandparents houses.

The attic was also an ideal setting for the experience. The attic made narrative sense it is a place where lots of old stuff and curio finds its way. As well as giving the player a mechanical reason to explore.

The story

The story of Hoi Opa is very simple and plays out on the grandfather’s birthday. The story is told trough four voicemail messages spoken by the grandfather’s family members. Each member sheds light on their relation to Grandpa. The story seeks to explore how fleeting the nature of everyday events are and how impactful they can be in the long run.

This is the monologue of Peter the son of the grandfather.