Project BLASTbox

A PLASMAworlds Prototype (2017)

Project Overview

Platform: Samsung GearVR (in partnership with META Oculus + Samsung)
Devices: Samsung S7 mobile phone & GearVR headset
Role: Director, Art Director, Producer and Lead Designer
Team: 6 interns + 2 freelance collaborators at Mind Traveler Design
Objective: Build an immersive, mobile-scale VR experience that reimagines classic gameplay (like Duck Hunt) through the lens of a unique alien world and cinematic storytelling.

The Context/ The Mission

[First of all, let me preface with - I just loaded BLASTbox today and spent 15 mins in the world, amazing! Was too fun. I realize now this project is a world that only we have now. I am looking forward to sharing it with you]

Summer 2017, BLASTbox began as a creative partnership with META Oculus and Samsung, a conversation about GearVR and testing the limits of mobile device based virtual reality. I was wrapping up a few projects, including the spring semester of lecturing at Academy of Art university - San Francisco. I’d concluded that I wanted to direct and develop an introduction to a world I’d been writing about, and what better than to do it in virtual reality using the super accessible technology of mobile phone based VR. The concept of BLASTbox was to capture a sense of wonder and immediacy that early games like Nintendo Duck Hunt once gave players—only with this project, I sought to deliver it through a PLASMAworlds lens. Limited by mobile tech but excited by the challenge, I set out to design a vivid, alien survival experience that felt both beautiful and raw. But first, the excitement of building a new team...

Creative Direction

Instead of doing what I always do, identifying and tracking my favorite artists and associates that I worked with on other projects, I decided that I wanted to try something different. It was summer and classes were out, so I handpicked a group of my most driven video game art & design students for a paid summer internship at Mind Traveler Design. Together, and from scratch, we would prototype the world of Qwunzetha—a wild, ravenous planet filled with alien life and unrelenting energy.

Visual Goals:

• Establish immersion through bold color palettes and simplified geometry.

• Prioritize readability and atmosphere using diffuse maps, baked lighting and smart level design, while testing the limits of mobile based virtual reality. (Will opacity maps, normal + gloss maps be supported?)

• Blend moments of serene stillness and clenching terror into an alien ecosystem that felt alive and beautiful.

Jason Schrier’s environmental work and of course the natural world we all live in inspired the early tone: tunnels of overgrown foliage that hinted at endless worlds beyond the player’s reach. I wanted to evoke curiosity, fear, and fascination all at once.

Process

Our approach was fast and iterative—“Rough and Dirty First please.”
note: This allowed us to keep development progressing while nurturing creativity, fun and ownership among the team.

• Testing: We ran early tests to help set a roadmap for how we would start and to refine the work flow. The focus was to bring the level in Unreal to life, so that meant testing everything in the real-time scene. This made for very educational and fun process.

• Blocking & Sketching: Early design focused on 3D blocking before concept art, letting us visualize flow and scale directly in VR. After initial block-outs we progressed on the epic journey of creating designs and evolving the world iteratively.

• Iteration Cycles: Quick live updates every few days; playable weekly builds. Every week we became more and more present to what we could and couldn't do, and what we didn’t know how to do, but were excited to figure out.

• Communication: Real-time conversation via Slack, consistent check-ins via email, weekly in-person playtest meetings.

• Visual Direction & Art Pipeline: I provided initial concepts and model roughs; directed the team through modeling, textures, optimization, in-engine layout and gameplay ideation and implementation.

Outcome

Despite the GearVR’s technical limits, we achieved a fully playable prototype with genuine immersion, atmospheric lighting, intuitive controls, environmental depth and storytelling moments. When you are in PLASMAworlds BLASTbox you are in a whole new world, absolutely!

Timeline: 8 weeks
Team: Felipe Sanín (art), Liu Liling (tech-art), Jaewoo Chung (art), Robert Grasso (programmer), Zhuoyang Liu (art), Carolina Gómez (animation), Tommy Simpson (audio), Kenny Kong (fx), Edna Seifu (v/o) Anwar Bey (direction, production, art, design)
Tools: Unreal, Zbrush, Max/Maya, Photoshop, GearVR SDK

BLASTbox served as both a proof of concept and a teaching experience—revealing how much magic can be made with limited resources and strong communication.

Reflection

Sometimes, restraint is the most elegant form of innovation. Though VR wasn’t a long-term focus for me, BLASTbox reshaped my philosophy on accessibility, connection, and shared experience.
It also charged my drive and provided visibility and direction to create PLASMAworlds: The Book of WOLDU—a medium that invites emotional participation and human connection beyond the headset.

Every intern on the project went on to capture full-time studio roles across the world, and I still maintain strong ties with them and contacts at META Oculus.

If I could revisit BLASTbox today, I’d be very excited to utilize the latest hardware in virtual reality technology. Id build and expand the world far beyond the limitations of GearVR 2017 and surely create whole new worlds and monsters for us to interact with.

From 20 years of video game art development Anwar has developed a unique and empathetic and passion Art Direction style. Pre-Production/prototyping is a crucial Art Direction process. I have genuine passion to create original and signature experiences. By working with me you will access high level creativity, iterative design, and final executions that leave lasting impressions on all who engage your project.