In this Unreal Engine project, I designed a scene which would be utilized with nDisplay CAVE systems to create a virtual production environment. In this environment, a virtual camera could be used to match video output to a physical camera, allowing a real person or object to be overlaid onto the background environment in real time. In designing the environment itself, I wanted to create a space which could cycle between multiple different environments without loading a new level. I landed on a "Holodeck," like that of Star Trek, which could display different environments within it. The Holodeck itself was easily created using a modified environment from my "Hologram" project, after which I created an environment for the Holodeck to transform into - an underwater scene with ruins, plant and coral life, and schools of fish. I also added underwater volcanoes which can be triggered by pressing "E."
Once the ocean environment was complete, I created a shader to control the transition between the two environments. The shader uses a material's distance to the center of the environment to determine whether it should be shown or hidden, and expands outward or collapses inward to gradually reveal or hide the ocean environment when "Spacebar" is pressed. Finally, the nDisplay CAVE system was added to the project which, when connected to a tracked real-world camera, could display a view-accurate background in the camera's view, combining the view of the digital environment with the person or object in the physical, real-world CAVE.