Ghost Hunting is an mixed reality (MR) project made in Unity that features the untold stories of people who have been underrepresented in history.
Winner of the "je ne sais quoi" Award at 2023 Digital Media and Design Showcase
Video Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/JcKMzEeMHFI
Did you know that ghosts are real? That’s right. Everywhere you go, they float unseen, lingering in this world with unfinished business. They have been left out of the history books, overshadowed by famous white and/or male figures and overlooked because of their gender, race, or class. They need someone to hear their stories, to recognize their work in making the world what it is today, and you could help them! Recent research has discovered that through a camera lens, we can see and communicate with these ghosts. Furthermore, these ghosts typically linger near an object that is somehow related to their past. Find them next to paintings, historical artifacts, museums, or the everyday items around you. Learn about who they were and assist them with any tasks they may have for you. Help them move on to the next world in peace.
- Clone this repository
- Open Unity Hub
- Click the Open button and select the newly created Ghost Hunting folder from your files
- Open ARScene in the Assets -> Scenes folder
- Press the play button on the top to run game
- You can find the image targets in the
Image Targetsfolder. Print them out on letter size paper
Note: Ghost Hunting uses Unity version 2020.3.31f1
- Start game
- When your camera turns on, hold up either the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis or King Henry VIII image
- Learn more about the ghost(s) that appear and follow their instructions.
The game starts with an introduction.
Then the camera activates and you hold up your first image target. I started with The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, a painting that features George Washington after winning the Revolutionary War. Instead of telling his story, I chose to tell the story of an enslaved-man-turned-spy named James Armistead Lafayette, whose work was vital to America winning its independence.
You can click through different options and have a conversation wtih James Armistead Lafayette. At the end, he will ask you to find a draft of the vital intel he sent that helped America win the war. That message is in invisible ink on an old pamplet. Using the arrow keys, you can move the candle to the empty space at the bottom.
The next image target I did was a painting of King Henry VIII. Instead of telling his story, I chose to tell the stories of his six wives, who are often known for their association to the king, but not for what they've done in their lives.
They invite you to play a trivia game, where upon selecting the correct queen, you learn more about them through dialogue. You can also feel some of their emotions and get more tidbits of information from the snppet of song that accompanies a correct choice. These songs are from what inspired me to do this image target, Six: The Musical.
- Add more stories!!! There's so many out there that I would like to include!
- Adapt game for mobile devices
- Add a page that keeps track of which ghosts have been found and which have not
- Fix candle's appearance and other bugs