“Elysian Heights”: Texas Immersive Institute’s Groundbreaking AR Experience Longlisted for Yugo Student BAFTA Awards

From April 11 to April 13, the Texas Immersive Institute (TXI) – a program under UT’s Moody College of Communication and within the Game Development and Design (GDAD) Program – invited guests to enjoy their student explorers’ Capstone Project titled “Elysian Heights,” an in-person immersive experience tying augmented reality to physical elements. Elysian Heights sought to examine the concept of partnerism through a futuristic version of the classic film The Wizard of Oz, and was recently longlisted for the Yugo Student BAFTA Awards under the new “Immersive” category.

Partnerism, an economic theory developed by social scientist Rhianne Isler, provides an alternative to both socialism and capitalism in the form of a society focused on mutual respect, non-violence, innovative solutions, equality, and empowerment. Interested in illustrating this concept in a high-tech society, TXI explorers told the story of a powerful Artificial Intelligence, O.S. (Oz), in his mission to make the city of Elysian Heights as productive and prosperous as possible – doing so at the cost of its inhabitants’ humanity. With characters like Iron Clad (Tin Man) being declared over-productive and others needing to reconnect with nature, the immersive experience tackled political conversations in a digestible way to audiences of all ages. 

Guests enjoyed Elysian Heights through ultraviolet lights, an immersive escape room, augmented reality, sensor mechanisms, and much more. Students created elements targeting each of the five senses, offering objects for guests to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste – ranging from disembodied voices instructing guests on how to draw a lion to others encouraging them to test the ripeness of a tree’s fruit by identifying the flavor of various candies. Amber Huchton, a rising senior in UT Austin’s Fine Arts Department and the Creative Director behind Elysian Heights, stated that this project helped her to “learn how to be confident in her ideas” while “creating the best experience possible for everyone involved.” 

As a new program in the GDAD Program, TXI works to assist GDAD in its goal to graduate career-ready designers and creators with game development and game technology skills. Elysian Heights was developed with the assistance of several different types of gaming software, including Unreal Engine, Unity, JavaScript, Arduino, TouchDesigner, and more. Across its two-day run at DadaLab in Austin, Texas, Elysian Heights welcomed 270 attendees of all ages. Professor Erin Reilly, the Founding Director of the Texas Immersive Institute and the professor behind the TXI Capstone project, stated that “Elysian Heights‘ phenomenal success—selling out 12 of its 13 shows—demonstrates the power of…the Texas Immersive Program’s ability to create meaningful, engaging experiences that resonate deeply with audiences.” If you are interested in experiencing Elysian Heights for yourself, you can find the student-developed walkthrough here. If you are interested in learning more about the Texas Immersive Institute, you can find more information here. 

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The Game Development and Design (GDAD) Program at The University of Texas at Austin is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program between the departments of Arts and Entertainment Technologies, Computer Science, and Radio-Television-Film. The program produces graduates ready to design, develop, and provide leadership for the exploding growth in game, metaverse applications, and creative media agencies and studios in Texas and around the world.