Abhilasha Swaroop
Last Night
An MFA Thesis: Exploration Through Scale
The Overview
Last Night is a narrative-driven walking simulator that invites players to explore an oversized forest from the perspective of a bug. The project is a study in environmental storytelling, using spatial design and sound to guide players through a non-linear mystery to uncover the events of the previous night.
The Experience
The journey begins in a dimly lit forest and unfolds into a series of whimsical, hidden environments:
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The Speakeasy Bar: A social hub for the forest's miniature inhabitants.
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The Diner & Clinic: Story-rich spaces that provide visual clues about the world's lore.
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The Hidden Room: A secret space containing critical lore for players who venture off the beaten path.
The Technical Workflow
1. Hybrid 3D Asset Creation I combined high-fidelity real-world data with custom modeling to build a tactile, immersive environment:
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LiDAR Scanning: I used iPad and handheld Einstar scanners to capture real-world natural textures. These scans were optimized in MeshLab and refined in Blender to ensure they were performance-ready for a real-time engine.
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Low-Poly Modeling: To ensure a smooth player experience in Unity, I modeled key environmental scenes—like the bar, diner, and clinic—using a low-poly aesthetic in Blender.
2. Visual Clues & Illustrations To deepen the environmental storytelling, I used Procreate to design custom 2D assets that serve as "indexical signs" within the world:
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Branded Elements: Designed menus for "Bugs Bar" and the forest diner to make the spaces feel lived-in and authentic.
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World-Building Posters: Created background illustrations that provide subtle narrative clues without relying on explicit dialogue.
3. Spatial Sound Design The audio environment was engineered to guide player navigation and emotional response:
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Layered Audio: I combined professional voice acting with edited sound libraries, cleaning and layering the tracks in Adobe Audition.
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Unity Integration: These environmental soundscapes were integrated into Unity to create a 360-degree auditory experience that shifts as the player moves through different forest sectors.
Asset Management & Scale
To manage the complexity of a thesis-level project, I implemented a strict Asset Management system. I organized thousands of 3D models, textures, scripts, and audio files into a clear directory structure to prevent errors during the final integration into Unity.
The Toolkit
Unity, Blender, LiDAR (Einstar/iPad), MeshLab, Procreate, Adobe Audition, Asset Management, Sound Design
