Calm Spaces

Here is an example of game play for Calm Spaces

Calm Spaces is a therapeutic game that aims to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, ADHD and depression. Through my research into the psychology of gaming I’ve found strategies that help to diminish some of these symptoms by creating a calm, slow paced, open-ended and immersive environment, with a soothing palette ranging from pastels to natural tones and ambient music. Calm Spaces consists of two levels of low-poly, non-goal-oriented, exploratory game play where the player guides their own experience. The first level promotes relaxation in an outdoor park where the player can gently push away the grass, find the tree that changes the colors of the sky, and find the tree that eventually will take the player to the second level. The player is transported to a cave where they can explore while collecting crystals. The crystals can be seen to symbolize healing and also add an element of beauty and wonder. I also composed and produced the calm, atmospheric and ambient music that plays in the background. As a neurodiverse game designer, it is an area of study I am involved with both personally and professionally. I want to promote healthy game play by creating games that can help people relax and immerse themselves in a peaceful environment that promotes positive mental health. 

For this project I used a variety of programs to make everything come together. I did the level design in Unity as well as the modeling in Autodesk Maya. For the texturing I used Procreate on my iPad Pro to create all the textures in the park level as well as the cave texture in the cave level. For the crystals in my cave level I textured them in Adobe Substance 3D Painter. The music and the sound effects in both levels I composed in Logic Pro X.