Developed in collaboration between the UK digital dance company Mercurial Dance and students based at dBs Institute of Sound and Digital Technologies, Embody XR is a VR game that leans heavily on sound design and music, and intends to raise awareness about anxiety in young people between 13-25 through physical movement and digital storytelling.
While wearing a headset, participants/players synchronise their movements to in-game choreography and complete tasks based on cognitive behavioural techniques to encourage 'self-reflection and offer tools that alleviate the physical symptoms of anxiety.'
dBs Pro – the creative audio company and dBs Institute's go-to production house – enabled four of its students to work on the sound design elements of the project with the company Sound Reactions. Using real-time audio editor FMOD, the team put together the sound design elements that the game was built on.
Currently exhibiting around selected schools and universities in the UK, it's hoped that the game will reach a wider audience in the near future. Its the latest, welcome story as part of a growing trend towards wellness and mental health-oriented tech.
EmbodyXR state that the game was spurred by a shocking study: "A recent study from Mind the Mental Health Charity reported that over 31% of young people aged 16-24 reported evidence of anxiety or depression (up 26% year on year). Of this number, the majority of young people said that turning to support from their school was their first step."
On the sound design deployed for this project, Jay Auborn, the Creative Director of dBs Pro said: “The sound design for the experience required a musical approach, EmbodyXR makes use of some incredible music that is integral to its dance and movement theme. Creating sounds that were separate enough but also complemented the music was a lot of fun for the team.
"We had to consider the musical key of objects in a way that supported the overall tone of the experience. Our student team used their understanding of music to create the right sounds. Tools like frequency analysis are a real help here to visually see where the spaces are in the spectrum.”
For more information, head to EmbodyXR's website
