Ash//Dust

This interactive artwork is a collaborative exploration of atmosphere, attention, and temporal liminality. Developed alongside Melbourne-based author Tess Rooney and sound designer Santino, the project presents a haunting 3D virtual environment shaped by minimalist design and immersive sound. Set on a remote island steeped in unease, the work invites players to uncover a fragmented narrative through movement, presence, and careful listening. Spatial audio plays a central role, using dynamic 3D and binaural sound to mark landmarks, guide attention, and deepen the emotional texture of the world.

Rather than relying on traditional gameplay, the experience is shaped primarily through ambient interaction. Players navigate an open landscape where visual rhythm and sonic cues subtly orient them within the environment. While minimal UI prompts and clickable elements exist, they are used sparingly and deliberately allowing the environment itself to lead the experience. Hidden triggers and layered cues reward attentiveness, and the branching structure encourages return playthroughs to uncover multiple possible outcomes.

Through continuous iteration and prototyping, the team refined the eerie, peripheral atmosphere that defines the work. Small adjustments to sound attenuation, trigger placement, and environmental pacing had a profound impact on the player’s sense of immersion. Looking ahead, the project holds potential for deeper temporal experimentation: integrating real-time environmental shifts in response to player presence and layering ghostly sound vignettes that evolve with each visit. The result is an emotionally resonant digital space where presence and absence blur, and meaning surfaces slowly from the edges.