As long as the scars remain unhealed, the fight isn't over.

Will John be able to overcome his trauma?

On mobile?

Watch the trailer here

An immersive and narrative reimagining of the complexities of post-traumatic stress disorder

A student short film that attempts to capture the essence of PTSD and raise awareness about recovery

& An immersive dive into the mind and experiences of a war veteran haunted by a painful past

“Since his last overseas' mission, John isn't the same. Plagued by the memories of a traumatic experience, his former sense of self has been altered, rendered unrecognizable to himself and the people around him. Despite having learned how to repress the painful memories within himself, they unrelentingly resurface.

To free himself, John must confront the demons of his past and make a choice.

Will he be able to make the right one?”

Abstractly exploring and depicting the invisible impacts of altered mental health, Mindfield is an immersive experience focuses on how John, an army veteran, has his life altered by his post-traumatic stress disorder. The audience will delve inside his memories, transported to the core of the emotional rift he experienced during a more chaotic time of war.

Will John be able to open up about his past to a loved one, freeing himself partially from the burden he bears?

Or will he remain stuck in this loop of hopelessness?

The person that can determine John's fate... is you!

Mindfield: A Wordplay on Trauma being Detonated in Ones’ Mind

The virtual reality experience and student short film Mindfield addresses post-traumatic stress disorder through the lens of the story's main character, John, and explores the nuances of the affliction and possible outcomes through diegetic modular endings.

It is the result of over a year of work by a team of third-year students studying visual effects at NAD University of digital arts, animation and design. The project was completed entirely remotely and virtually, given the schooling circumstances of the covid pandemic.

Addressing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The film's objective is to sensitize the viewer towards how PTSD can influence the experience of daily life, making them a witness of imagery depicting the character's inner state of turmoil, as well as exposing them to a painful memory of trauma.

The film searches to evoke empathy, but also to provoke a questioning towards traumatic experiences, their impacts and the healing process.

Technicalities of Telling a Story in VR

With the storytelling language of VR being very different from cinematic language, implementing the suspension of time was one of the main technical points we wanted to tackle as storytellers. Integrating immersive pauses that felt natural in order for the story to breathe, and instead waiting for the spectator to be ready to pursue the story’s course while ensuring no key plot points were missed was of utmost importance. This led to much testing and development to allow that balance.

Other VR storytelling techniques were also utilized. For instance, animation loops were integrated during the key moments of time suspension, awaiting the spectator’s gaze to linger in the right visual area in order for the next event to be launched (using the gaze direction of the headset to trigger events assigned to invisible bounding boxes).

Otherwise, sound, as well as light, were used as tools to command attention and guide the viewer's gaze in the right direction.

Symbolism: Whale Plushie

The whale toy above represents a parallel between John’s son and the child he accidentally shoots during his war memory. His relationship with his son has been altered by his transposing of both their lives and the guilt he experiences towards the innocent boy he killed. The whale doesn't actually exist in his memory, it is a metaphorical bridge that ties that experience to John's on in his reality.

What’s next?

Stay tuned! Mindfield - VR Experience should be available on online game platform Steam by the end of the year!

Acknowledgements

We’d like to express our thanks towards UQAC - NAD University for it’s contribution towards supplying the necessary equipment, arranging the necessary spaces and giving special permissions for filming despite strict regulations during the covid-19 pandemic.

These contributions were critical to the project’s successful completion.

Meet the team

Director
Game Developer

Behind the production

The Mindfield team at its core was composed of 3rd year university students enrolled in the school’s VFX program—as opposed to the video game program—and were brought together by team leader Vincent Ladouceur. His enthusiasm towards virtual reality productions swayed classmates into trying their hand at, and learning about the unfamiliar world of making a production with a game engine output.

The project was supervised by Yan Breuleux, university professor specialized in immersive storytelling and environmental narrativity.