An internal prototyping tool and interactive marketing environment for Beaudry Interactive's latest 1/4-acre immersive lighting experience.
Unity Designer and Developer
Mitch Mastroni, Lead Unity Developer
David Beaudry, Studio Principal
Unity, C#, and Photoshop
Design Agency Internship
Previous product demo materials relied on 2D animated Photoshop files, falling short in conveying the immersive and interactive qualities of the experience. This left prospective customers wondering how would the experience "feel" and presented challenges in sales.
As the Studio neared completion of the first set of physical Light Sprites, they aimed to showcase a physical-digital interactive demo at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) conference in November 2022.
The exact Light Sprite density remained uncertain since it wasn't possible to test the full experience on a 1/4-acre lot with a full 256-unit set.
To determine the ideal spacing between Light Sprite units, I established four areas with varying densities and reviewed with the Principal.
The Principal opted for a ~1m2 density and asked to it scaled across all 256 units in an outdoor setting resembling Paso Robles, CA, a target customer location.
To achieve this, I utilized Unity's Terrain system to create the hilly, semi-arid landscape and strategically arranged the Light Sprites, along with other 3D elements that suited the setting.
From there, I created cameras from three different perspectives and attach looping animations to each.
Once the Paso Robles environment was complete, the Principal asked to create another environment resembling the Appalachian Mountains since a target customer from that region would be attending the IAAPA conference.
Movement scripts for the figures were created, making them loop along their own path, as seen below with different colored dots.
To intercept the wireless data originating from Max and display it in Unity, I worked with the Lead Unity Developer to integrate the UDP signal and parse it to display the right color for each Light Sprite unit, allowing them to display the same lighting pattern instantly.
Prior to the IAAPA conference departure, I playtested the Unity experience including the interactivity with a physical controller that offered User control to pause on product highlights and manually move two of the figures across their respective paths in order to trigger virtual environmental sensors.
The Unity tool and its environment allowed the Principal to emulate diverse settings and actions, such as fireflies, fireworks, and magical fairy dust.
Ultimately, the tool empowered him to continue working comfortably in Max MSP while effectively demonstrating the immersive, interactive lighting experience to prospective customers.
The Light Sprites Unity Scene offers four different camera angles with pause functionality, and two User-controlled models for triggered virtual sensors, while simultaneously displaying lighting data from Max MSP over UDP.
At the November 2022 IAAPA conference, the Beaudry Interactive team:
qualified three (3) prospects, and converted one (1) into a customer.
The highlight of my internship with Beaudry Interactive was the internal Light Sprites project. I had the opportunity to work alongside the Principal and Lead Developer, making a valuable contribution to the studio's immediate and future success.
