The VR Universal Century Museum is an immersive virtual exhibition set immediately after the events of the One Year War of 0079 in the Mobile Suit Gundam timeline. Designed as a fully explorable museum environment for the Meta Quest 3, the project guides visitors through the historical arc of humanity’s migration from Earth to the space colonies, the political tensions that arose, and the devastating conflict that reshaped the Universal Century.
The experience begins in a photo gallery that documents the colonization process, featuring touch-activated narration that recounts key events. Visitors then enter a 3D model exhibition hall showcasing iconic spacecraft, colony designs, and mobile suits, including the RX‐78‐2 Gundam and the MS‐06 Zaku II. Interactive features allow visitors to click to play videos, click to hear in‐depth introductions, and pick up and inspect 3D objects.
The museum seamlessly blends historical narrative with speculative world-building, merging visual storytelling, audio immersion, and hands-on interaction to bring the Universal Century to life for both Gundam fans and newcomers.
Conceptual Statement
This project reimagines the rich lore of the Mobile Suit Gundam Universal Century as a tangible, explorable cultural institution. By situating the experience after the One Year War, the museum functions as both an archive of a fictional past and a speculative reflection on humanity’s future in space.
The design emphasizes commemoration, education, and immersion — providing context for the socio‐political forces that drove the colonization of space and the tragedies of interstellar conflict. The interactive nature of VR transforms passive observation into active engagement, allowing visitors to explore exhibits at their own pace, discover hidden narratives, and physically connect with artifacts. This blend of narrative and interaction bridges the gap between historical museum experiences and the possibilities of immersive media.
Tools & Materials Used
We created this immersive VR space museum using Unity, constructing a futuristic space exhibition hall through 3D modeling and dynamic lighting rendering. The project utilizes NaturalReader to generate AI audio guides that provide vivid explanations for the exhibits. Meanwhile, the images in the exhibition hall were created with the assistance of ChatGPT for historical content. Visitors can freely walk through the exhibition space and use our interactive system to closely observe and pick up spacecraft models, accompanied by carefully designed background sound effects for a comprehensive space history experience. During production, the project effectively used virtual reality and AI technologies to create a virtual cosmic museum space.
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Software: Unity 2022.3, XR Interaction Toolkit, Blender, Adobe Photoshop, Audacity, Capcut- Hardware: Meta Quest 3, VR‐ready PC
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Assets: Custom‐modeled 3D environments, .GLB and .FBX models of spacecraft,colonies, and mobile suits; voice‐over recordings; background music and sound effects.
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Interaction Types: Click to play video, click to play introduction, pick up object.