“TACIT”, which means understood or implied without being stated, is our aspiration for how the haptic interactions we carefully experimented can enhance the subtle yet layered emotions within the VR journey. As a student pitch team passionate about innovating how touch can drive gameplay, we secretly hope that TACIT might also mean, Totally Awesome Creative Innovation on Tactileness!
Team members
Yufei Chen
I am a student at the ETC with a background in traditional art and 3D art. I earned my bachelor’s degree in art from the University of Washington. At my time during the ETC, I developed my skills in 3D modeling, got to create various environments, characters and more. For our project, my goal is to create art assets that not only meet technical and aesthetic standards but also resonate emotionally with guest, bringing them an immersive experience with the VR medium.
Jack Chou
I am a student at CMU ETC and a programmer with a background in Biomedical Engineering and a passion for Game Design. I aim to create immersive and meaningful experiences through interactive VR media, compelling gameplay, and applications in education and healthcare, while exploring ways to apply Artificial Intelligence to enhance gameplay dynamics and player interaction.
Jing Chung
I am a programmer passionate about virtual reality, especially bringing to life exciting animations like living in a fantasy world where one can battle monsters and level up. Within my team, I focus on building the core architecture and aim to provide user-friendly systems that support rapid prototyping. My long-term goal is to shape these prototypes into reliable systems that can be reused in future projects.
Alex Hall
Alex Hall is a self-declared maker of many things, usually revolving around immersive entertainment and virtual reality. Before the ETC, she earned a B.S. in Interactive Media with a concentration in Advanced Media Production from Harrisburg University, where she built virtual reality projects ranging from a STEM summer camp for high schoolers to a scaled space station inspired by real engineering patents. At the ETC, she fell in love with researching, designing, and developing for immersive platforms, pushing new experiences into the industry. On her off time, she keeps creating whether it be playing the bass, creating props and costumes, forging stories, and even making the infamous Flesh Wall experience in the ETC.
Winnie Tsai
Winnie has a B.S. in Computational Math as well as a minor in Dance from University of Washington in Seattle. She once interned as a data analyst and another time doing digital marketing. Her personal projects are heavily influenced by UX Research methods. Therefore, she approaches R&D and game design from all of these different lenses. She is passionate about synthesizing information and building integrated systems. In Tacit, Winnie is a producer and a programmer.
Michael Wong
I am a composer and sound designer. I got my BFA in Music Composition at Carnegie Mellon University. I like making games that are very experiential, so I’m very excited to work on this particular project. My goal during this project is to really get familiar with how sound and music interact with haptic feedback.
Project Instructors
Heather Kelley
Heather Kelley is an Associate Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), where she teaches game design and interactive media. A celebrated game designer, media artist, and curator, her work explores sensory-rich experiences, integrating touch, smell, movement, and nervous system response into gameplay.
Vivian Shen
Vivian Shen has a PhD in robotics with a background in sensing and VR/AR. Her research explores physical computing and embedded AI for experimental media, focused on developing haptic platforms and interaction techniques.