Signal Space Lab’s “Human Within” stands out as one of the most distinctive Virtual Reality (VR) releases in 2025, due to its skillfully combined elements of immersive storytelling. By merging aspects of virtual reality games with interactive fiction, “Human Within” seamlessly transitions from choose-your-own-adventure live-action cinematics to more interactive VR puzzle scenarios.
The narrative of “Human Within” delves into profound philosophical and ethical dilemmas surrounding the bond between humans and technology. In this story, a groundbreaking innovation taps into the human mind’s potential, enabling individuals to transfer their consciousness into the digital world. As with any technological leap, there are both benefits and drawbacks, which “Human Within” vividly portrays. Players assume the digital persona of protagonist Linh, and this virtual existence sets the stage for intriguing reflections on reality within a virtual reality setting.
Game Rant held a conversation with Avi Winkler, creative director of ‘Human Within’, and Anne Weigel, its director. They shared insights on the game’s origin, the significance of impactful player choices, and the ingenious methods used to facilitate these aspects. For your convenience, this discussion has been condensed for conciseness and clarity.
The Research and Technology Behind Human Within
A: Would you like me to discuss the beginnings of Human Within? What was the original concept, and what sparked it?
In our project, we aimed to narrate a distinct tale centered around technology, utilizing technology itself for storytelling. We also strove to design an interactive experience where the user becomes a key character in the narrative. Virtual Reality (VR) is a cutting-edge technology that provides players with an immersion level unprecedented in conventional gaming.
Drawing significant inspiration from films such as The Lawnmower Man and Transcendence, which prominently feature technology and its implications, our aim was to delve into the moral dilemmas associated with technological progress. Given the rapid yearly advancements in technology today, this topic appears particularly pertinent and timely for exploration.
In order to create an authentic portrayal of the fictional tech in Human Within, we made sure to grasp its capabilities and potential appearance. To achieve this, we delved into existing studies about brain-computer interfaces, using our findings to mold the story’s setting for a more cinematic experience.
In our storytelling, we aimed to make the technology appear credible while acknowledging that it’s all part of a cinematic experience. We purposefully left some leeway for audience interpretation. The intriguing notion of character Linh and her digital existence in a sort of limbo became an ideal platform to delve into the repercussions of overstepping technological boundaries.
Inquiry: Was the outcome of the study you conducted impactful on Human Within’s perspective? Did it shift your view towards being more hopeful or skeptical?
Weigel: I’m not certain if it has, given my involvement in research within a related field, which makes me an optimist. It’s often astonishing to witness what’s already achievable. What seems to have propelled us into the research, together with my team and various departments, is that we’ve gained a more comprehensive grasp of its potential appearance, how we could convey it to the actors, and how they can engage with it.
It’s crucial that everyone shares a common understanding of our technological concept, even though it isn’t directly portrayed in the dialogue or live-action. This shared comprehension ensures that our team’s work aligns with the directors’ vision.
A: Building a VR game like Human Within, which combines 360-degree live action, Point Cloud digital environments, and puzzle sequences, was an intriguing challenge. The process required careful consideration of various perspectives to ensure seamless integration. Some difficulties encountered included ensuring consistency across different formats, optimizing performance for smooth gameplay, and creating immersive experiences that engage players in each unique environment.
In my case, I have a background in video games which allowed me to shape the design focusing on choice and gameplay elements. Being from a storytelling background as well, constructing the narrative came easily to me. However, I hadn’t previously worked in live-action filmmaking. Collaborating with Anne was an amazing opportunity because she shared her experience in live-action production, giving me valuable insights into that process.
It’s crucial to create an extended, captivating story for a seamless VR experience. Most VR interactions are brief, usually lasting between five and 20 minutes at most. Unlike these short experiences, live-action VR stories do not typically offer prolonged narratives.
Instead of utilizing complete live-action 360-degree sets, we aimed to explore that market and provide high-quality content to the audience by blending internet-based space scenes with real-life action.
In every one of the 360 scenes, real-life action takes place, while the internet-based space scenes feature panels displaying live-action footage captured from multiple camera angles. This lets you observe the world as if you were in digital space. Additionally, various types of point cloud sequences are used to maintain an engaging and diverse visual experience.
To prevent confusion among users, we ensured that each scene was given adequate duration. Rapidly switching between types of scenes might cause disorientation, so it was important to provide a sufficient length for users to become accustomed to the experience before transitioning to a different scene type.
Engaging in the creation of such captivating sequences is no easy feat, for they span across numerous screens and camera angles. The unique challenge lies in filming these extended scenes in a single, uninterrupted take, some stretching up to five or six minutes without a single cut. This demands an extraordinary level of precision and planning from the entire team, making it a truly formidable task.
It’s fortunate that we had an exceptional team of actors who were deeply engrossed in the narrative. Their portrayal of the content felt more like live theater performances instead of typical film acting.
Q: Did filming those scenes in 360 degrees present unique challenges?
Weigel stated that the project posed a significant hurdle for the cast, crew, and all those involved due to the enormous script size, considering the various choices players could make. One of the main difficulties was maintaining an effective acting strategy so that the performances remained top-notch regardless of the player’s decision. Instead of a single narrative, there were multiple interwoven stories, which presented a considerable challenge for me as a director and the actors, as we needed to reconsider our methods to tackle it effectively.
Filming in 360 degrees presents unique difficulties since you must mentally visualize the entire scene from all angles. The camera catches even minute details, leaving nowhere to conceal, resulting in a significantly distinct experience compared to conventional filmmaking.
I found this challenge incredibly engaging since it compelled me to thoroughly revise my storytelling methods, ranging from organizing the scenes in a new way to meticulously considering each detail that impacts the player’s decisions.
Initially, I must confess I felt a bit apprehensive about the task at hand. However, I’m grateful for Avi’s knowledge and the professional assistance provided by the production company I collaborated with. To be honest, I’ve never posed as many queries as I did during this project. The experience was delightful because working in 360 degrees expanded a realm of opportunities that conventional filmmaking doesn’t offer.
I’d put it this way: I view VR as similar to a stage play, but instead of being a spectator seated in an auditorium, you’re right there on the stage, immersed in the action. Unlike traditional theater, there’s no separate auditorium; instead, you might find additional walls or even more actors behind you. In VR, you’re not watching from a distance – you’re part of the room where the play is unfolding.
Apart from not having any physical cuts, the experience of watching a play in the audience and watching a film on a screen share some similarities, as both events occur at a distance. However, Virtual Reality (VR) offers a unique perspective because the story unfolds all around you, immersing you completely in a new world.
In the world of movie-making, stories usually follow a straight path. Can you explain how you approached the non-linear storytelling in “Human Within”?
Winkler: My professional journey has been focused on creating intricate, non-linear, and branching narratives, like in Deus Ex Mankind Divided where I worked on dialog choice wheels and gameplay that influenced the storyline and endings. In Human Within, we’ve leveraged elements from conventional games, such as telegraphic interfaces, to signal when a decision point arises.
In digital games with 3D characters, I can smoothly transition my character mid-animation to either option A or B, making it appear seamless. On the other hand, in live-action scenes, there’s an unavoidable shift or abrupt change in the actor’s position when cutting from one action to another, which isn’t as smooth.
In conventional games and certain two-dimensional live-action content, solutions to choice-based interactions can be achieved through switching cameras. However, in Virtual Reality (VR), it’s less common to change camera angles.
We created a system that seamlessly transitions between different camera angles within the room, minimizing confusion for the user. This significantly improved our handling of complex narrative paths (branching).
A: Could you describe the method you used when designing the interactive aspects of Human Within, such as the point cloud and puzzle scenes? Could you also elaborate on the actions that players can perform within these segments and explain how they were crafted to be engaging and significant?
As you progress through the narrative, you’re not just a reader; you become a character yourself, living out the digital existence of one of the story’s characters. The entire tale is unfolding from this character’s perspective, specifically from within the digital realm where she resides.
In the 360 scenes, you’re responsible for deciding the sequence of past events. Meanwhile, in the interactive internet-style scenes, the storyline remains static until you successfully tackle a puzzle or engage with specific elements to advance the plot.
In this immersive experience, the interactive segments revolve around the series of point clouds. These areas were specifically crafted to allow players to immerse themselves in both the narrative and the surroundings in a manner that neither the 360-memory scenes nor the internet space scenes offer.
Given our awareness that many of our viewers lean towards casual gaming rather than hardcore, we took great care to strike a balance. We wanted to incorporate enough interactivity to boost the immersive feel of the gameplay, yet avoid creating a situation that might prove too intense or confusing for them.
Question: Can you tell me about the technological advancements used during the creation of Human Within? Were there any specific methods or tools that you utilized which stood out as particularly distinctive?
In the production of Human Within, using live-action content and long-form storytelling, presented a significant challenge. To tackle this issue, they employed a unique software known as Vrex, which was originally developed by Signal Space Lab, but has been refined during the development of Human Within.
Vrex offers an intuitive interface akin to time-based video editors such as Final Cut or Premiere, yet it incorporates advanced technology for effortless branching interactivity. This interactive feature responds promptly to the user’s decisions across multiple stimuli, including eye movement, screen interactions, and even sound cues.
Additionally, it facilitates the creation of immersive experiences, similar to Human Within, which incorporate real-life footage. Without Vrex, it would be impractical to fit a comprehensive storyline onto a device with restricted storage space.
With Vrex, we can tackle this issue effectively by enhancing the content’s quality and simultaneously cutting down on storage space. It significantly diminishes the video size necessary for the content delivery, all while boosting the media’s resolution to create an impression of superior resolution.
Q: Do you think Vrex will play a role in future projects?
Winkler: Definitely agree! There’s certainly potential for it. We have technology that can support long-form narrative projects and high data content, making them standalone on a device rather than being connected to a computer. This is crucial because being tethered to your computer isn’t always the most convenient experience.
As a film enthusiast, I find myself often pondering the differences between interactive fiction and video games. While interactive fiction is primarily text-based and relies heavily on reader participation to shape the narrative, games incorporate various elements such as graphics, sound effects, and multiple ways to interact with the virtual world. However, projects like Human Within are indeed pushing the boundaries by combining immersive storytelling with advanced technology, making it more challenging to draw a clear line between the two forms of media.
Indeed, you’re correct. Interactive fiction offers an immersive experience in a narrative that traditional gaming only partially achieves. The Human Within, through Virtual Reality (VR), takes this to another level. Instead of being a mere spectator as in conventional audiences, you become part of the story alongside the characters. VR is the unique medium that makes this possible.
Weigel: I too believe Human Within is crossing that boundary. During our work on the project, the question of whether it fell into a particular category, such as interactive fiction or video games, was inconsequential to us. Instead, our focus was always on narrating this tale in the most effective way possible, utilizing the opportunities that best served the story and the project. If it originated from the gaming realm, so be it. We merely concentrated on the narrative and what it could offer us.
How Human Within Makes Player Choices Meaningful
Question: How does the Human Within game make it clear to players that their decisions have significance within its interactive storytelling methodology?
Winkler: Indeed, I concur that choices play a crucial role. However, I’m not fond of gameplay mechanics where choices seem inconsequential to the storyline’s resolution. When choices are made merely for the sake of having them, but with no substantial influence on the narrative – well, aren’t we just going through the motions? In essence, such choices don’t hold much weight or significance in the grand scheme of things.
Human Within is a lengthy, interactive virtual reality encounter, but it doesn’t last 15-20 hours. Typically, each session ranges from one hour to an hour and a half. The duration may fluctuate based on how long you spend solving puzzles, the scenes you decide to watch, and the ending you receive.
As a dedicated viewer of Human Within, I must admit that due to the extended nature of the series and its live-action format, we have to be meticulous in selecting storyline possibilities. This careful choice affects both the shooting timetable and the entire production process. Filming a live-action branching narrative is quite an undertaking, hence our selectiveness about the available opportunities. Consequently, your choices play a pivotal role in determining the final outcome you experience.
Weigel: The choices players make not only influence the ending of the tale, but they also shape its history. I found that idea intriguing. Depending on your decision, the flashbacks you see can vary greatly. By doing so, you’re actually modifying the backstory you encounter, and from a narrative standpoint, this significantly affects the information available to you when making decisions as a player.
It’s my belief that the storyline affects your view of the characters as well. The background details can impact the decisions you make about the characters’ futures and the technological advancements within the narrative, making it an intriguing aspect of the tale.
Question: Human Within consists of five conclusions. Could you tell me about the strategy used when composing for various outcome scenarios? Is it possible that one may be considered the “real ending” in the future?
Winkler: Every player desires their conclusion to seem unique, as if it’s the final chapter [laughs]. Each of our five conclusions needed to be distinct. Initially, we intended to create eight endings, but when it came time to write them, we found that the distinctions between them were becoming blurred and were losing their effect.
Managing to film eight different conclusions in live-action, given tight production schedules and budgets, would be an even tougher task. Some compromises had to be made, but trimming down the endings turned out to be a beneficial choice. Each ending stands alone, and none of them is considered the definitive one. The conclusion you witness depends entirely on the decisions you make throughout the narrative.
Instead of viewing the final scene as the conclusion, replaying the tale with alternate decisions gives you a chance not just to witness various outcomes but also delve deeper into some characters’ motivations. Could it be that this character is portrayed as malevolent, but there might be more to their story?
You may or may not find that out depending on your choices.
A: In the game Human Within, how do players evaluate their choices? Are these decisions more or less a balance between righteousness and wickedness?
Winkler: It’s not about good versus evil; it’s more complex than that. People around the world are distinct, and their life decisions are influenced by numerous factors. In the game Human Within, choices revolve around self-interest versus empathy.
The selections we make influence subsequent events and share a connection with the driving forces behind technological progress. They raise the question: Is technology’s creation ultimately for human improvement, or does it conceal hidden agendas in its evolution?
That’s one of the themes.
Question: How does Human Within raise significant moral and technological dilemmas? What thoughts would you like players to ponder while playing, and is there a general message in the game?
As a filmmaker, what really captivated me about Human Within was the opportunity to delve into these intriguing questions. Avi pointed out that when we play, it’s not just observing someone else grapple with these dilemmas; instead, we take on Linh’s role and face the repercussions of our choices directly.
It appears that Human Within doesn’t provide direct answers, but rather offers a platform where players can delve into another character’s point of view. This experience encourages players to ponder how their actions impact the narrative and the people within it.
Winkler: Technology can be awe-inspiring and nerve-wracking. Progress in many areas has undeniably made things happen faster, for instance enabling diseases to be spotted earlier. Meanwhile, we’re still uncovering the effects that smartphones might have on us.
Autonomous self-driving vehicles certainly seem intriguing, but they also present certain hazards. Given their novelty and limited presence in cities, we are still uncertain about the effects they might have on our society, urban infrastructure, and pedestrian movement patterns.
Every aspect, whether real or fictitious, has its pros and cons, and the technology portrayed in Human Within resides on this fine balance of being incredibly hazardous yet extraordinarily beneficial. In the end, the impact depends greatly upon how the technology is wielded.
One of my favorite quotes about technological advancements comes from the original Jurassic Park film, where Ian Malcolm remarks, “They were so focused on whether they could create something, they failed to consider if they should.” Despite being over 30 years since its release, this quote remains just as applicable today in relation to the fictional technology depicted in Jurassic Park.
Q: Do you have any last thoughts you’d like to share?
Previously, we talked about designing a technology-based experience, and interestingly enough, the creation and recording of this endeavor took place towards the close of the pandemic period. Consequently, all interactions among teammates and video production occurred via video conferences.
Regardless of being geographically apart during its creation, it’s astonishing how cohesively this project has turned out. The storyline, production values, direction, and performances are top-notch, and it’s all thanks to the brilliant application of technology.
In this unique project that differed from past assignments, we found ourselves needing to collaborate closely due to its novelty. It was quite an enjoyable experience for me, as I ventured into uncharted territory. Reflecting on it now, I believe the effort was absolutely worthwhile. I apologize in advance for my numerous questions, but our conversations about it were lengthy and we rarely had face-to-face interactions.
Winkler: Over the course of my professional journey, I’ve consistently taken on tasks that present fresh obstacles in game development. Initially, I focused on children’s games, followed by platformers, stealth mechanics as seen in Thief, and then branching narratives in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Subsequently, I tackled multiplayer cooperative play in Gears of War 5, and more recently, I have been exploring VR technology.
As a film critic, I’ve always relished the unique challenges each project presents, and this collaboration with Anne has certainly been no exception. I’ve gleaned invaluable insights from her, just as I hope she’s learned from me. This production has been an exhilarating journey, one that we’ve embarked on together – a journey that for me, has spanned longer than it has for Anne, due to my involvement with the project right from its inception, including the conceptual design, script writing, and prototyping stages.
In a novel approach, we combined real-life footage, virtual reality (VR) space, and point cloud sequences, which is rarely done. Moreover, we introduced an extended storyline in VR that was so pioneering, we had to develop a fully functional prototype using 3D animated storyboard models.
I’m thrilled for individuals to engage with it and ponder the ethical dilemmas technology presents. I’m equally eager to observe the decisions people will make based on their available options. Furthermore, seeing this game evolve from its inception to where we can discuss it, conduct interviews, and share it is truly exhilarating; being at this stage feels incredibly unique.
As a director embarking on a fresh project, it was truly awe-inspiring due to our exceptional collaborators. The team at Signal Space Lab boasts extensive expertise, while Actrio possesses a wealth of knowledge in VR production from Germany. Moreover, my head of art department has a proven track record in large-scale VR projects, and he’s the only individual I know in Europe with such experience.
In the design of our VR setup, we incorporated all the lights as there was no room to conceal conventional lighting equipment, which plays a crucial role during the pre-production phase. The success of this project can be attributed significantly to our collaborators, for whom I am deeply grateful.
I’m equally grateful for the actors who joined us in this venture, as well as for our ability to persuade them to be a part of it. Previously, our approach involved more conventional scripts, but when we presented our extensive one, there was a need for thorough explanation about our innovative methods. Avi created a prototype which proved instrumental in clarifying our intentions. To some, our concept initially seemed abstract and challenging to implement–almost like they were unsure how to utilize it.
As a cinephile, I must say this project stands out due to its innovative approach in both storytelling and cinematography. Finding a director like Anne and securing collaboration with a film studio like Actrio wasn’t easy; many studios initially dismissed it as too ambitious. However, when you find the right partner who shares your vision, magical things happen, and we ended up creating something truly remarkable.
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