Hu & Joo
Augmented Reality Experience, Interactive Storytelling, Immersive Character Design, and World-Building (2023)
Hu & Joo is an immersive augmented reality (AR) experience where users embark on a dynamic journey with two extraterrestrial characters, Hu & Joo. After crashing on Earth, they are separated and must reunite to complete their mission. As they search for each other, they send signals to guide their journey. Using AR technology, the narrative unfolds within real-world environments, offering users a deeply immersive and contextually aligned experience. By combining storytelling with real-time interaction, Hu & Joo showcases AR's potential to transform communication design and create unique, user-driven experiences. To dive deeper into the full creative process—from character and environment setup to shaping the story into visual, motion, and interaction design, as well as product planning.
To begin with, we established their background story: the situation they are in and the mission they have to accomplish. From there, the game's storytelling can be extended indefinitely by the users - for example, users can influence their own journeys by adding missions to the game. We see the potential for generative content through interactions between users (players).
Background Story
Hoo & Joo have unexpectedly landed on Earth - they are explorers from HANGUL planet. As companions, “ㅎ & ㅈ, Hu & Joo” travel together as two entities, but when they merge, they become one and gain superpowers. Their crucial mission is to explore unknown planets to collect data. They usually roam around worlds together as one entity, but they split when their spaceship collided with the Earth. To accomplish their missions, Hu & Joo must connect to Tower X and receive a new route from Earth to their destination area. To do this, they need to find a device that can communicate with Tower X to get information to get on the original orbit. Somewhere on planet Earth, there is a device they have to find, which was flung from the wreckage of their spaceship when they crashed.
Environment
Small world - Big world: They are not affected by some of the physical properties of Earth, so the scale of their bodies on Earth grows and shrinks freely. So, they can be anywhere -in the coffee mug or spreading over a huge range of clouds.
Clues
Everything that comes from their planet can send a particular signal, which they follow.
Ideas for AR games
To expand this story to an AR game, we can assign specific signals as clues, so users can follow the clues along with our characters. We can also set the activities of collecting data as a reward to get scores(how much data the player has) and put time limits. These will create a competitive atmosphere in the game. The mid-goal will be to make a connection with Tower X, by tracking clues to find the device. The final goal will be reaching the destination. During the journey, users (players) can get involved with this game as a creator and a shifter by creating their own missions. In this sense, the gameplay can expand in various interactive ways.
Characters
“ㅎ & ㅈ, Hu & Joo”
Name: ㅎ ㅈ [ heu jeu ]
From the Korean language “Hangul,” we picked two consonant letters from each of our team member’s names,
ㅎ from 형인 Hyung-in
ㅈ from 주은 Joo-Eun(Joann).
Age: 100001023
Occupation: Explorer
Features in their..
- Appearance
The long shapes of their bodies look like human arms or act like an antenna. They function like limbs but are essential in communicating by receiving and sending signals. Joo has green spike-shaped sensors to detect any kind of wave, with its two eyes having a powerful vision but no mouth to make sounds or something to output data they got. Hu has one mouth that looks like an eye; it can be called a kind of mouth cuz it functions as an output. It can output data they have by projecting visuals and sound, but Hu has no eye to see or sense from outside. Joo takes charge of taking in data, and Hu takes charge of displaying data.
- Motion behavior
Hu: Constantly jumps up and down because He doesn't like the feeling of gravity pulling them downwards, so Hu tries to move away from it.
Joo: Stamps its foot with a nervous personality. Before displaying information, Joo spins around to gather energy.
- Talents
HU - Understands, speaks, and displays 50,000 planetary languages.
JOO - Microscopic view ability. Joo is able to recognize a spectrum of light (infrared rays, etc.) beyond what humans can see and can control electromagnetic waves.
- Faults
HU lacks the ability to see, and the JU lacks the ability to speak.
- Strength
When the two characters are combined, their abilities become extraordinarily strong, not only they are completed to make the flow of data they have by connecting input and output routes.
- Fears
The objects of their fears are bugs, pigeons, and masks…
- Hobby / Love
They love singing while looking at the sun setting over the horizon.
- Worldview
They place value in feeling various energies as they explore the new world while performing their missions.
Tower X
Tower X has radar networks that can distinguish passage to planets across the entire galaxy, regardless of time and space limitations. The “Device” is required to connect with Tower X.
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Tower X has radar networks that can distinguish passage to planets across the entire galaxy, regardless of time and space limitations. The “Device” is required to connect with Tower X.
Device
On the top of the device, reminiscent of a mushroom shape, there are identically characterized markers that confirm that it is a device belonging to Hu & Joo; its function is to send signals into space and receive them. Data flows through passages of the lines under the hut, the lines run through inside of the pillar by connecting from the top interface part to the eye-shaped storages. These eye-shaped spots on the pillars store information. Hu & Joo can extract information from these stores, which light up as they do so.
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On the top of the device, reminiscent of a mushroom shape, there are identically characterized markers that confirm that it is a device belonging to Hu & Joo; its function is to send signals into space and receive them. Data flows through passages of the lines under the hut, the lines run through inside of the pillar by connecting from the top interface part to the eye-shaped storages. These eye-shaped spots on the pillars store information. Hu & Joo can extract information from these stores, which light up as they do so.
Spaceship
- Appearance
We designed this according to traditional Korean aesthetic characteristics. The Korean kite tail inspired the fluttering tail on the back of the spaceship, and ideas for the body came from the vivid multicolored patches on traditional cloth.
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- Appearance
We designed this according to traditional Korean aesthetic characteristics. The Korean kite tail inspired the fluttering tail on the back of the spaceship, and ideas for the body came from the vivid multicolored patches on traditional cloth.
- Personality & Behavior
The spaceship will be revealed if you get your cellphone that has installed the app close to the sky. It could be somewhere between the skyscrapers or above the park. The spacecraft does not want to appear (it has a shy personality), so it will increase its transparency in the open sky.
- Approaching Ideas for Users
Depending on which coordinate position the player is in, the color of the plates on the hull changes. Users (players) might be able to tell where other users are based on the color of the hull.
︎ Role
Conceptualizing, Ideation, Storytelling, Art direction, Motion design, Video editing, AR development.
︎ Collaborator
Joann Myung: Character design, Graphic design, AR development.
︎ Tools & Methods
Adobe After Effects, Adobe Aero, Motion graphics, UX/UI, Interaction design, Character design,
Storytelling.
Conceptualizing, Ideation, Storytelling, Art direction, Motion design, Video editing, AR development.
︎ Collaborator
Joann Myung: Character design, Graphic design, AR development.
︎ Tools & Methods
Adobe After Effects, Adobe Aero, Motion graphics, UX/UI, Interaction design, Character design,
Storytelling.