Studied why my first snow experience was so intense
Turned it into a VR experience
Type: VR Game Develpopment, Photogrammetry Client: University Project Outputs: VR application, UI Design
Type: VR Game Devevlopment, Photogrammetry
Client: University Project
Outputs: VR Application, UI Design
Lake Effect Snow – VR Simulation is an interactive educational experience that
visualizes how lake-effect snow forms and behaves using real-time 3D environments. The project combines environmental storytelling with scientific visualization, allowing users to explore a simulated park environment while observing snow formation, wind flow, and cloud dynamics influenced by temperature differences over a lake. Designed as a 4 month test assignment to run on Meta Quest, it blends realism with interactive motion graphics to communicate a complex meteorological phenomenon in an engaging way.
My Role: Technical Designer, Developer, UI Designer, 3D Artirst
Project Preview
Photogrammetry for faster 3D modelling
Recreatting a real environment in a 3D program using reference images is
a laborsome affair.
Using Photogrammetry, one can reduce the time and efforts exponentially by feeding a live action video to a photogrammetry/gaussian splatting program.
This video was uploaded on Polycam for Video to 3D
mesh conversion.
Cahill Pier, Oswego, drone footage
Mesh generated by Polycam
Initial mesh generated by Polycam
After polygon optimizatation, texturing and lighting
Polycam 3D model modified and finished
on Blender
Photogrammetry for faster 3D modelling
Recreatting a real environment in a 3D program using reference images is a laborsome affair.
Using Photogrammetry, one can reduce the time and efforts exponentially by feeding
a live action video to a photogrammetry/gaussian splatting program.
This video was uploaded on Polycam for Video to
3D mesh conversion
Mesh generated by Polycam
Initial mesh generated by Polycam
Polycam 3D model modified and polished on Blender
After polygon optimizatation, texturing and lighting
Outcomes
-
A fully optimized VR-ready Unity environment demonstrating the lake-effect snow process
-
Particle systems and shader-based effects to simulate snow bands and atmospheric fog
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Documentation outlining the pipeline from Blender to Unity with asset optimization and shader workflows