Home is an interactive mobile application designed to create a personalised space for relaxation and mindfulness. Inspired by the calming atmosphere of a crackling fireplace, the app allows users to unwind and de-stress with features that evoke a sense of tranquillity and well-being.
Various interactive objects will catch your attention, all highlighted at the start to guide your exploration.
The user interface is designed with intuitive controls and features, making your interaction more user-friendly and enjoyable.
Place logs into the fireplace and ignite them using matchsticks, enveloping the space in a warm and inviting glow.
Your pet can be fed at your convenience, fostering a sense of companionship and care.
Home promotes a sense of personalisation and care within the digital space. Users can adjust lighting and weather conditions, with ambient sounds seamlessly adapting to the environment. Interaction with a virtual pet, including feeding it, further cultivates a sense of companionship. Additionally, users can choose from various soundtracks to create a harmonious and immersive atmosphere.
Home prioritises an intuitive user interface (UI) with easy-to-use controls that enhance interaction. A main menu button in the top-left corner offers options to adjust fire duration, mute sounds, highlight interactive objects, and exit the application. The bottom-right corner features a camera button for effortless switching between four perspectives, providing diverse views of the virtual surroundings. The cat-shaped button allows users to customise their feline companion's appearance, adding a touch of individuality. Additionally, stock buttons in the top-right corner keep users informed about the availability of supplies. To ensure an uninterrupted experience, Home provides the option to replenish these supplies through rewarded videos.
The app encourages exploration by highlighting interactive objects at the start of the user's journey. The fireplace can be brought to life through interaction with these elements, allowing users to add and ignite logs with a matchstick, creating a warm climate. Some items, like windows, offer additional settings and configurations when interacted with, inviting users to discover hidden functionalities.
Home was developed using the Unity3D engine. While the majority of assets were sourced from third-party providers, we made significant manual adjustments to animations and textures using Blender, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Substance 3D Painter. We used DOTween, a third-party animation engine, to manage interpolation and ensure smooth movement for the cat animations. Additionally, Audacity was used for audio editing, and Simplygon played a crucial role in mesh optimisation and texture mapping.
As the lead developer, I collaborated with an artist to bring this project to life. My responsibilities included programming, setting up the lighting, and integrating all game components within the Unity engine. The artist handled modelling, animations, particle effects, and audio editing.
We had trouble setting up a smooth lighting transition from day to night and turning on lights at night without affecting performance. It took us a while to solve this problem because we couldn't use multiple dynamic lights, which are costly for mobile applications. After researching extensively, we discovered that Birdmask Studio had the solution we needed. The key was to create the different lighting setups for our scene, generate the lightmaps and light probe data, and then store them in a scriptable object that allowed us to switch the lightmaps in realtime.
We also had to ensure a smooth and realistic transition when burning the fire logs. To address this, we created a shader variation using Unity's shader graph. We were aware that shaders can significantly impact runtime memory, so we aimed to keep them as straightforward as possible while still achieving the desired look.
.NET Standard C# Unity3D Unity Version Control Level Play Shader Graph Jira State Machine Lightmapping Visual Effects (VFX) Adobe Photoshop Adobe Substance 3D Painter Blender Simplygon DOTween Audacity
Home has been successfully launched on Google Play, offering users a relaxing and immersive experience with its customisable environment and intuitive controls. The project demonstrates technical distinction through the seamless integration of third-party assets, smooth animations using DOTween, and effective performance optimisation. The application's ability to provide a tranquil escape, coupled with its sustainable monetisation strategy and innovative problem-solving for lighting and shader challenges, highlights the success of the project and its positive reception.