Overview
InSync invites visitors into complete darkness, where every gesture — walking, crawling, sitting, stretching — becomes a way of sensing. Pressure sensors trigger audio cues that guide the journey through shifting textures of moss, leaves, and metal.
Experience Principles
Embrace the Unknown
Darkness becomes a space for curiosity, inviting players to lean in rather than retreat.
Living Interaction
Omu is treated as a living presence rather than an obstacle, responding gently to movement, touch, and proximity.
Silent Understanding
Players communicate through movement, rhythm, and proximity, forming connections that extend beyond language.
01 — Sketch
I developed Omu as a tri-elemental creature shaped by land, sea, and sky. Its silhouette, tail, wings, and feline features were designed around gestures of connection rather than utility.
02 — First Pass
Refining the creature's proportions and translating gestures of connection into its anatomy.
03 — Final
Bringing the creature, players, and environmental energy together into one visual system.
DESIGN — ROWENA CHEN
DESIGN — ROWENA CHEN
DESIGN — ROWENA CHEN
Fabrication Process
Translating Omu into a full-scale animatronic required the visual design, internal structure, movement systems, foam body, and fur surface to work as one approachable physical presence.
Face Construction
A 3D-printed skull formed the base while hand-shaped fur, painted teeth, soft fabric layers, wooden supports, and mechanical joints created Omu's expression and natural head movement.
Tail Mechanism
A flexible fabric surface wraps a 3D-printed skeleton. Internal fishing lines control direction, producing biomimetic movement inspired by fish tails and tentacles.
Body & Breathing
Soft foam pads the body, with thicker edges protecting the wooden frame and a thinner center allowing an internal air pump to expand the surface. This breathing motion reinforces Omu's warm, approachable presence.
Learning Through Touch
Without sight, players naturally slowed down, listened more closely, and used both hands to read Omu's scale and expression. Their hesitation giving way to curiosity confirmed that touch could carry the intended emotional arc.
OBSERVATIONPlayers approached cautiously, then shifted into broader and more confident gestures as Omu became familiar.
01 — Narrative Foundation
The first pass maps a journey from losing sight to discovering Omu through touch, then carrying that connection back into the world.
02 — Interaction & Atmosphere
I clarified Omu's call, the entwining hand gesture, and the blue-violet language that distinguishes the cave encounter.
03 — Final Emotional Rhythm
The final pass strengthens contrast and panel progression so the encounter lands as the emotional center of the experience.
INITIAL STORYBOARD — SHUNRAN SHEN
REVISION — ROWENA CHEN
FINAL EXECUTION — SHUNRAN SHENMarketing Art
As Art Lead, I used targeted revisions to strengthen hierarchy, readability, atmosphere, and consistency across InSync's promotional artwork.
Judgement Tarot Card
The card evolved toward a clearer interaction between Omu and the player, stronger focal lighting, and a print-ready visual hierarchy.
A Quiet Moment with Omu
After months of sketching, storyboarding, building, and testing, Omu no longer felt like an object assembled from foam and fur. These small moments are my personal record of the distance between the first drawing and the presence we finally brought into the room.
A special thanks to the entire Dachu Interactive team for bringing Omu and this experience to life.