Waking Wonderland

“Waking Wonderland” is a sweeping 35 min extended-reality interactive narrative experience where users are taken on a brand new journey through Lewis Caroll’s Wonderland.

Based on the novel Through the Looking Glass, viewers join Alice’s granddaughter Anna as she ventures beyond the looking glass and encounters a range of surreal settings and colourful characters.

This was an interesting project that went though quite a few iterations before landing on a version that premiered in Atlanta. I was initially responsible as a lead 3D artist – specifically around environment design, layout and animation. However, at various stages of the project’s evolution at I was additionally responsible for all aspects of the layout and design of the physical spaces, content adaptation, arrangement of the attractions, as well as the production of building-permit ready drawings.

In a directorial role I worked closely with concept artist Rob Brunette to ideate and visualise these spaces, as well as with the Waking Wonderland art team to co-ordinate the digital environment design of that experience with the physical layouts of each room.

More details are available below.

The Launched Version

ILLUMINARIUM ATLANTA

The challenge with this was figuring out how to adapt a multi-room, hybrid digital/physical experiential attraction into a fully digital two-room footprint.

I was responsible for ideating both the creative and technical solutions, working closely with the development team on technical execution while taking on much of the creative adaptation work.

In the end, splitting the second room into three smaller ‘digital’ rooms seemed to function the best, allowing guests to drift from one space to the next as the narrative progressed.

Additionally I was part of the on-site installation team, tweaking and improving the content, working through bugs and playtesting prior to launch.

BTS GALLERY

LAYOUT OF DIGITAL SPACES RELATIVE TO PHYSICAL ROOM

The Original Version

MAKE BELIEVE

Architectural Design and Layout Development

The project evolved from an earlier pitch as a VR project and became a fully immersive, projection based experience. It was originally intended for the West Edmonton Mall, as a standalone attraction.

When talks for a larger than necessary space in Mississauga seemed to progress, the project expanded to include additional attractions.

The ‘Waking Wonderland’ layout changed from a purely linear progression to one that would allow each room in the narrative sequence to be accessed from a central hub, allowing for a ‘free play’ mode to be used during off-peak hours.

After a change to another larger potential location, food and beverage was temporarily removed due to setup costs, and more program was added.

'Waking Wonderland' Original Layout

First 'Make Believe' Layout

Updated 'Make Believe' Layout

Current Architectural Plan

Concept Design and Architectural Visualization

As the premium attraction in the ‘Make Believe’ Space, Waking Wonderland took up a significant footprint of the overall facility.

As part of it’s development, I was primarily responsible for all creative direction regarding its implementation, flow and build-outs as part of the larger space. I worked closely with Concept Designer Rob Brunette, as well as the Art Director and art team on the digital content to direct the look and feel of each room, ensuring the creative intent and practical requirements combined in an ideal manner.