#vrworldbuilding

Every world in Shambhala: The Ascension Protocol needed its own emotional heartbeat. Mood and color were my secret weapons to guide the players’ emotions silently.

The Temple of Memories uses muted earth tones, with shafts of dusty light inspired by Sahasam and ancient Indian ruins. It evokes sorrow and hope entwined. The Seven Thantras change drastically: fiery reds for the desert, icy blues for frozen wastelands, and soft ethereal whites for mist realms, capturing fear, struggle, doubt, and endurance. Shambhala City explodes into radiant golds, soft whites, and vibrant blues, evoking triumph, peace, and transcendence.

Movies like Dune, Kalki 2898 AD, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Uncharted were major influences on this language of light and darkness. I studied how those worlds used saturation, shadow, and silence to speak emotionally without a single word.

In Shambhala, light is memory. Color is emotion. Every scene doesn't just tell players where they are; it tells them how to feel about where they are.

Entering the second week, our focus shifted toward populating the full maze environment. Using Kamal’s ruins, Steve’s sculptures, and my updated blockouts, we worked systematically through the maze, room by room, filling spaces with atmospheric details.

My priority was maintaining navigational clarity without losing tension. Maze paths were designed to look confusing but still intuitively guide players towards puzzle areas through environmental hints like broken light paths, statue placements, and ruin density.

Joel assisted heavily at this stage, offering a fresh pair of eyes on compositions and suggesting better asset placements for gameplay flow. Together, we ensured that stone puzzles were reachable but guarded by the maze’s environmental complexity.

Performance considerations stayed top of mind. We closely monitored polygon counts and material draws, optimizing wherever possible to keep the Oculus Quest 2 experience smooth. Dynamic lighting and particle effects were added sparingly to maintain frame rates without sacrificing atmosphere.