If You Were Here: A Journey to the Landscape of the Departed is an AR experience idea that provides a way to imagine and disorient the grieving process through a traumatic loss, inspired by the traumatic loss of my father. It offers an alternative space for those who lost someone in a way that is abrupt or disorienting. Through an interactive experience, users are invited to imagine a loved one they’ve lost as being present in their everyday life. By visualizing their presence and engaging with meaningful prompts, the journey aims to create a healing space—a reminder that, though physically absent, the departed live on through memory and identity.
This project is designed to take users on a reflective journey that gently evokes the continued presence of loved ones. It uses everyday objects, shared spaces, and familiar locations to build a comforting narrative, helping users feel connected to their loved one in a new, meaningful way. Calm, soothing music accompanies the experience, fostering an atmosphere of peace and reflection. The AR experience will end in a user-specific AI-generated poem, a structured piece that brings closure and empowers users to carry forward.
Interactive Experience and Visual Elements
The experience prompts users to engage with common objects and spaces, from a book, a chair, or a kitchen table to a bench in a park or a bus stop. The AR experience identifies objects and environments, overlaying them with visual prompts and gently guiding the user to recall shared moments, habits, or emotions. The interaction isn’t just visual; users are encouraged to complete short, reflective prompts aloud, deepening the sense of connection.
Engaging with Familiar Objects
The journey begins with prompts tied to everyday items. When the user encounters objects such as a chair, a book, or kitchen utensils, the AR system projects a subtle, ambiguous figure near the object—invoking the loved one’s presence without fully defining it, allowing the user to fill in the details through memory.
Example Prompt: “If you were here reading with me, you’d say…” (as a figure appears near an open book, gently paging through).
Contextual Transition: After interacting with the book, the system subtly suggests moving toward the kitchen, reminding the user, “They’d often read here, then go to the kitchen for a cup of tea.”
Exploring Public Spaces with the Loved One
As users move through various settings, like a road, bus stop, park bench, or café, they’re invited to bring memories into these places. For instance, sitting on a park bench could evoke a familiar memory or habit shared with the loved one. The AR figure’s presence remains ambiguous, fading in and out as if in sync with the user’s reflections.
Example Prompt: “If you were here on this bench by the park, what would we laugh about today?”
Environmental Effects: Gentle sounds tied to specific locations (such as the quiet murmur of a café or the rustle of park leaves) enhance the sensory experience, grounding memory in both sound and place.
Gradual Increase in Figure’s Presence
The AR projection starts subtly, perhaps as a faint shadow or silhouette. As users progress through prompts, the figure becomes clearer and more defined, symbolizing the growing comfort in feeling the loved one’s presence. Toward the experience’s conclusion, the figure gently fades, symbolizing readiness for closure.
Personal Images for Enhanced Connection
Users have the option to upload an image, allowing the system to render a more personalized projection that visually resembles the loved one. This step deepens the experience, giving a tangible, familiar presence to the AR figure, especially for those who feel ready to see a likeness of their loved one.
Emotional Conclusion and AI-Generated Poem
When the user indicates they’re ready to conclude, or after a period of inactivity, the system gently asks, “Are you ready to return?” This phrase encourages reflection and allows the user to acknowledge their journey.
Upon confirmation, an AI-generated narrative poem summarizes the user’s words and expressions from the session. The poem will frame the loved one’s presence as a part of the user’s identity. It aims to reinforce the presence of the lost one while offering a sense of closure. Though it is worth considering that not all losses are the same, complicated grief exists, sometimes the person we lost had hurt us, and the AI algorithm will recognize the emotional states as well as the content shared by the user to formulate a poem that recognizes the complexity of grief and encourage strength and resilience. It will also invite users to return whenever they’d like to reconnect with the memory of their loved one.