IMT&S Results

Building an Immersive VR Experience

A Deep Dive into Team Leadership, Unreal Engine, and Motion Capture

by Sofiya Bregeda

Project Overview

This project was part of a semester-long collaboration with XRLab, where I led the development of an immersive VR experience aimed at visualizing real-life social dynamics through interactive storytelling. My main focus was a dual-track journey: technical growth in Unreal Engine & motion capture and leading a multidisciplinary team through production challenges. Our goal is to study the effects of repeated memory behaviour on individuals who have undergone traumatic experiences through an interactive VR experience. It was a collaboration with Aberdeen University, as a part of scientific research.

Learning Goals

Before kicking off, I clearly defined three personal goals:

1. Master Unreal Engine (UE5)
   Light setup, post-processing, sound design, debugging, and optimization.

2. Grow as a Professional Team Leader
   Task delegation, client coordination, team morale, and planning.

3. Explore Motion Capture (MoCap)
   Using the Link and Xsens suits from calibration to final implementation.

Week-by-Week Creative Process

Week 1–2: Project Kickoff & Role Setup

I was voted as the team leader during our first brainstorming session. I immediately set up our infrastructure: a shared Notion space, Discord server, and communication pipelines with our clients, Katja Zibrek and Eva Rubinova. We also defined roles and established our initial goals based on the brief.

Week 3–5: Scripting, Actors, and Research

These weeks were heavily focused on scriptwriting and budget planning. I researched actors, reached out to professionals, and ensured our writing matched the emotional depth required. I also initiated our financial talks and started planning for MoCap.

Week 6–7: Blockouts and Technical Foundations

I created the first Unreal Engine blockout, then iterated it after spotting layout issues. We began basic lighting and asset implementation, while I organized an actor briefing. I also reached out to Xsens for a second suit.

Blockout 1

Blockout with 3D Meshes

Week 6–10: Blockouts and Technical Foundations, Work on the Project

I created the first Unreal Engine blockout, then iterated it after spotting layout issues. We began basic lighting and asset implementation, while I organized an actor briefing. I also reached out to Xsens for a second suit. I continued managing the Asset list for the artists and engineers, continuing the creative direction.

Week 12–14: User Testing and MoCap Milestone

I organized our first user test, focusing on VR newcomers to get raw insights. Then I fully managed our first MoCap session: suits, calibration, actor briefing, and data export. I also documented the pipeline so the team could repeat the process easily.

Week 15–17: Asset Repair, UVs, and Polish

With the artists taking a writing break, I took on asset troubleshooting myself. I redid UVs, fixed lighting bugs, and optimized couch interactions. I also created custom materials for better realism and began animation cleanup. As well as that, I created the lighting, post-processing, implemented fixed assets and worked on implementation of animations

Full Image Gallery:

Reflection

This project was a true stretch of every skill I’ve built - from building pipelines in Unreal Engine, organizing MoCap sessions from scratch, managing team morale, to navigating real-world feedback from clients.

Despite internal challenges, I'm proud that I held the line with the clients, managed our tech stack, and left the project stronger in Unreal, MoCap, and team operations.

Key Takeaways

Ran a complete motion capture pipeline (Xsens & Link)
Led weekly meetings and planning with external clients
Developed lighting, optimization, and asset fixes in UE
Balanced creative production with team management
Practiced resilience and flexibility under pressure

Review from the Clients