They Shall Not Come Back is a narrative-driven VR interactive experience that enables the player to embody the lingering soul of a young soldier lost amidst the turmoil of World War I, striving to reunite with his family in NYC for one final encounter. Caught between the harsh battlefield reality and the ethereal realm of the afterlife, you'll embark on a profoundly moving journey across time and space, uncovering the enduring strength of bonds and affection that surpass the bounds of mortality.
Director 
Producer
Technical Director
Technical Supervisor

Lead Engineer
Engineer

3D Artist
Environment Artist
Seleny Xie 
Olivia Siu
Seleny Xie
Jordan Halsey
Shaoyu Su

Steph Ng
William Zhao

Somi Awasthi
Seleny Xie
Original Footage + Alpha + Depth Map Comp

Customized Volumtetric Capture Pipeline

Result with shader
Final Comp with the environment
Motion Capture 
Soldier character mesh + body rig + advanced skeleton
Genre:  VR, War, Family, Action, Immersive
Platform: Meta Quest 2 & 3, PCVR, Steam (coming soon)
Software: Unreal Engine 5.2, Houdini, Motion Builder, OptiTrack
Duration: 15min
Formats: PCVR 6DOF
Language: English
Release Date:  Summer 2024
For inquiries, support, and live demo,
please contact:  xseleny@gmail.com
MoCap Technician
MoCap Actors

VolCap Technician
Volcap Actors
Audio Designer
Music
Seleny Xie 
Zack Rocklin-Waltch
Johnny DiGiorgio
Michael Macleod
Nathan Fairchild
Erin Lucid, Kathleen Leary
Antriksh Bali
Markel Badallo Latorre
 How we made this:
  1. We captured the actress’s performances in front of a pure white wall (for cleaner mapping in post).
  2. We then utilized two open-source AI tools, (MODNet & Depth-Anything) to generate the alpha and depth map, respectively. 
  3. After compositing all four maps together with the corresponding texture coordinates (excluding the normal map to maintain the "point cloud look"), we employed the world position offset and Unreal Engine’s default noise nodes to mimic a volumetric-captured point cloud effect with a retro 1920s aesthetic.
  4. To address the issue of the depth map causing the edges of the video to appear obtrusively extruded, we developed a blueprint system that ensures the video plane always faces the player's view direction, effectively minimizing the visibility of the edges. 
Animation CleanUp in Motion Builder
 How we made this:
  1. We utilized the UE Live Link with the MoCap Motive system to capture real-time motion capture footage directly within the scene environment. This streamlined MoCap pipeline allowed us to adjust character blocking and performance while the characters were on stage, significantly reducing the time needed for hand-tweaking animations in post-production.
  2. To ensure accurate scale and distance measurements, we integrated a photogrammetry-captured MoCap volume static mesh into the scene. This provided us with a clear understanding of the maximum achievable distance within a single take.
  3. Given the limited production time and scope, we combined Maya's advanced skeleton with our customized body rig for further clean up. 
Live Capture Footage
Opacity Map
Distance Map
---------------------------------