BIOLUM

Back in 2015 I discovered the work of marine biologist and bioluminescence expert Edith Widder through her TED talks. With eloquence and charisma, she presented an undiscovered world deep in our oceans, inhabited by mysterious creatures. While these alien-like real life beings can take any shape and size, a lot of them share a singular trait: the ability to create light in the pitch black ocean depths. This fascinated me, and I started watching any documentary I could find on the subject of bioluminescence, feasting on the visual delight they offered.

It didn’t take long before my appetite for bioluminescence could no longer be satiated by merely watching; I had to create biolu- minescence myself. I made a few short animations presenting imaginary creatures of the deep, not only trying to match the grace and majesty of their real-life counterparts but to even enhance it. Posting these on Reddit and Imgur revealed an unexpectedly large appetite for this type of content, several hundred thousand views and comments followed.

This fuelled my desire to explore this imaginary world even further. I first considered making a pseudo-documentary, but real-life creatures of the deep felt fantastical enough as is. My producer (and bro- ther) Igal suggested a push towards a much more story-driven fiction project. That’s when my friend and senior screenwriter Jon Rowe joined me, adding his talent and development experience (Britannia, Silent Witness, The Little Drummer Girl) to my skill set, and together we created the Bioluminescence universe, a storyworld that imagines an extraterrestrial predator taking over our planet’s oceans. And a project that deliberately tries to walk in the footsteps of my main influences: Asimov’s Foundation, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke, H.P. Lovecraft... Environmentally relevant, existential science fiction stories that question humanity’s place in the universe.

Borrowing from nature’s most fascinating parasites, we imagined a microscopic worm taking over any living creature it meets, giving it the ability to glow and communicate in a language of light. This worm unites any contaminated individuals into a larger ‘Collective’, transcending barriers of species and overdriving them into smarter, stronger, unified, and more aggressive, creatures. This process of infection culminates with ‘The Glimmung’ (which I named after Philip K Dick’s amalgamated being), a mega mutant creature made of myriad worm-infected individuals. The Glimmung is both giant sea monster and Lovecraftian symbol of forces beyond human comprehension.

The VR experience is humanity’s “First Contact” with that luminescent predator. It is the story of a dive gone wrong that leads to the infection and eventually the absorption of the diver into the Collective. That diver is Rachael, a protagonist for our time; imagine Ellen Ripley from ALIEN, but bolder and more of a maverick from the get-go. She is lured into a giant cave system by mesmeric bioluminescence, only to get infected and hunted down as she tries to escape. All this while guided by Eva, her mentor, her surrogate family, and the leader of the expedition, halfway between Captain Ahab’s monomania and Oppenheimer’s brilliance.

In order to capitalise on the immersive cinematic potential of VR, we’re putting storytelling front and centre in aiming for as taut character arcs as possible in the optimal 15-20 minutes length for a VR experience. Rachael’s mind gets taken over by the worm’s toxin, she also discovers that Eva knows more than she let on and is willing to jeopardize her safety for the sake of recognition and career ad- vancement. Rachael’s fight for her humanity will collide with Eva’s betrayal when she discovers her mentor is moved by small-minded aspirations, despite being world-renowned in her field.

With our ambition for complex, layered arcs and rich dialogue we aim to attract world class actors to voice our characters. Talent who will be able to bring Rachael to life as a new iconic action heroine and lend Eva the chilling determination of the most ruthless leader.

This cave system is inhabited by rich fauna and flora, inspired from real-life species but amplified by the infection. We want the setting to stand at the crossroads between alluring and monstrous, giving our user both the desire to explore further and the fear of the uncanny, terrifying unknown. This world will come to life in hypnotic detail, drawing from nature’s beauty but with choice alterations to amplify its impact. A tightrope act in which we will balance all the crucial elements: a believable rendering of light, paramount to any project about bioluminescence; a careful modelling of our environments and creatures, creating a credible and varied world; and last but not least an exacting level of character animation, good acting being a cornerstone of believability. My years of experience in animation and visual effects will come into play here, in finding the best talent to work with, but also in guiding the process from an informed point of view.

We also want the user to be transported from beginning to end by an orchestral soundtrack seamlessly blended with immersive sound design. Rachael’s journey will be intense and transformative, and we want all of these twists and turns to be felt by the viewer not just visually but also through their ears. From droning, ominous soundscapes filling the caves with dread to heightened swells lending a breathless urgency to the action sequences, we want the complexity of this world to be mirrored by the richness of its sound.

And our ambition doesn’t stop at creating a passive experience. We intend to make the most of the VR medium by using light-touch interactivity to amp-up the immersion. We believe allowing the user to interact with their environment will make for a much stronger, immediate and visceral experience, the kind that allowed me to identify with and feel for a machine in Lone Echo, or to hear and touch planets in Spheres. Intuitiveness is key, we want to thrust the user straight into the story without needing any tutorials. But the experience should require a small amount of mental involvement from the user, stopping their progression with puzzles to give them the satisfaction of solving them. Staying true to the central theme of the project, light will be used as both a guide for the user and a tool for them to progress.

We’re aiming to build an impactful experience, a naturalistic fusion of horror and science fiction which subverts our species position in the universe, moving the user from short-sighted and immediate concerns to an existential and transcendental perspective.