Tree

At Milk, Sylvan was VFX/VR Supervisor on Tree, a multi-sensory VR experience, while also working hands-on as an artist and technical director. Alongside the headset it uses sound, smell, touch, fans, heat and a vibrating platform.

At its heart is a first-person transformation from a seed into a full-grown kapok tree. The growth is driven live by a full-body rig, so the user’s arms become its branches and leaves sprout as it grows, with a haptic chest device adding to the sensation. The kapok was chosen because it grows across many jungle regions and matters to the communities who live there.

Tree won a Lumière Award for Best Location-Based VR Short, the Most Innovative award at Games for Change, two Telly Gold Awards and the Webby People’s Voice Award for VR. It was an official selection at Sundance New Frontier, Tribeca Immersive 2017 and TED 2017, and was shown at the World Economic Forum in 2019 and 2020.

Visit the Tree website, or watch the full playthrough, the version Vive included in its VR for Impact programme.