VR Wellness Experience: Rooted Realms

Rooted Realms is an artistic mixed reality meditation experience designed to transform a user’s physical surroundings into a mystical and emotionally responsive environment.

Developed for Meta Quest 3 using Unity, OpenXR, and Meta’s Mixed Reality Utility Kit, the project combines hand tracking, gesture recognition, spatial audio, procedural animation, particle systems, and shader-driven visuals to support movement-based meditation and emotional reflection.

At the center of the experience is the “Tree of Life,” a dynamic virtual entity that evolves through user interaction. Players manipulate flowing particles with their hands, guide them toward the tree, and trigger environmental responses such as leaf growth, animated mushrooms, and reactive visual effects.

The environment was designed to blend naturally with the real world through mixed reality integration. Spatial mapping and semantic surface detection allowed virtual elements such as mushrooms, aurora portals, fireflies, and ceiling effects to adapt intelligently to the user’s room.

The project explores how immersive technology can encourage mindfulness, relaxation, and emotional presence through calm interaction design, responsive audiovisual feedback, and intuitive gesture-based experiences.