Haven

Inspiration

We shared experiences of grief and how nonlinear the grieving process can be and how the emotions along the way resurface. It became clear that grief is universal, yet often isolating, as there are few spaces dedicated to addressing it openly. We realized the need for a virtual space where people could reflect, process, and share their grief without judgement. Grief is not linear, nor is it something one “gets over”. It is something that evolves with you and having a supportive space to navigate this journey is essential. Our project aims to normalize conversations about grief and create a safe environment to foster connection and healing.

What it does

Our virtual experience is a safe space that has room for reflection where users can explore their grief and share their emotions. This multi person experience allows participants to enter a serene environment where they can reflect and progress on their personal grief journey.

How we built it

We built the experience in Horizon Worlds, since we had faced to many time consuming obstacles with other tools.

Challenges we ran into

We quickly managed to find a common interest in grief as a topic, but a significant challenge was identifying how to balance the deeply personal nature of grief with a virtual multiplayer experience. Creating an environment that felt intimate but not isolating required thoughtful design decisions. Additionally, a team member left the Hackathon after the first day due to other commitments, which meant re-distributing tasks and managing our workload more effectively.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We managed to create a virtual space where grief can be acknowledged and processed in a healthy and supportive manner. The experience fosters connection among participants, transforming an often isolating emotion into an opportunity for shared healing. Seeing our ideas take shape into a calming, functional prototype within a limited timeframe was an incredible achievement.

What we learned

We learned how to pivot and adapt when faced with technical hurdles.

What's next for Haven

Conduct user testing to get feedback on the experience and tailor the environment to their needs. Expand the features to allow the users to interact with the different experiences in our scene.