ENTER
Step into a first-person reconstruction of Fu Hao’s Shang Dynasty tomb.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PUZZLE GAME · CULTURAL HERITAGE LEARNING
- ROLE
- Research · Game Design · Interaction Design · Visual Direction
- TEAM
- Huijia Huang · Xuefei Wu · Ayesha Gul · Min Ji Kim · Betsy DiSalvo
- YEAR
- 2025–2026
- OUTPUT
- Unity Game · Research Prototype
THE EXPERIENCE
A first-person archaeological puzzle game where players enter Fu Hao’s tomb, uncover ritual artifacts, and decode real oracle bone inscriptions through observation, context, and inference.
PLAY THE GAME ↗THE DESIGN QUESTION
How can an ancient inscription become something players can explore, touch, and interpret?
Oracle bone script is the oldest known mature writing system in China. Its pictographic forms preserve visual traces of the objects, actions, and ideas they represent, inviting learners to look and infer.
Yet many learning tools isolate characters as symbols to memorize. Oracle Vision instead situates writing inside the material and ritual world in which it was produced, making the learner an active interpreter.
FU HAO · LATE SHANG DYNASTY
A warrior, royal consort, landholder, and ritual practitioner.
Archaeological discoveries from Fu Hao’s tomb at Yinxu reveal an unusually powerful woman who led military campaigns and participated in divination. Her story gives the game a historically grounded perspective on writing, authority, and ritual life.
THE CORE LOOP
Learning unfolds as an act of archaeological interpretation.
INVESTIGATE
Read the explorer’s diary and examine ritual artifacts embedded in the chamber.
REMEMBER
Activate mural-like memories that connect objects, sound, and historical context.
INFER
Compare visual clues with authentic oracle bone characters and reason toward meaning.
DECODE
Reconstruct the inscription to unlock the next chamber and continue the story.
THE INSCRIPTION AT THE CENTER OF THE PROTOTYPE
“Fu Hao divinesrain this month.”
FROM ARCHAEOLOGY TO GAME WORLD
Historical forms become a visual system that feels coherent, legible, and alive.
Museum references, bronze-mask silhouettes, Shang and Zhou geometric patterns, and archaeological artifacts shaped the characters, murals, interface, and environmental motifs.
The palette and ornament are not decorative additions: they create a consistent bridge between source material, the game's clue system, and the reconstructed world.
VISUAL RESEARCH BOARDARCHAEOLOGY · CHARACTER · WORLDFROM SYMBOL TO MEANING
Each clue connects language to a place, object, sound, or ritual.
WORLD
A Unity-built tomb turns historical context into a navigable learning space.
ARTIFACTS
Ritual objects anchor each character in a material and cultural practice.
MEMORIES
Murals and spatial audio translate abstract script into visual, situated clues.
PUZZLE
A gated decoding interface asks players to interpret rather than simply recognize.
WHAT PLAYTESTING CHANGED
When guessing replaced reasoning, the design redirected players toward evidence.
A gentler first step
A new Level 0 introduces one artifact and one character before the four-character inscription.
Guidance in the world
A spotlight and beams of light connect discovered artifacts to their memory murals.
Time to look closely
A full-screen mural view lets players compare imagery with oracle bone forms without losing the clue.
History as a tool
An explorer’s diary explains Shang divination, Fu Hao, and culturally specific imagery such as the dragon–rain relationship.
Interpret, don’t brute-force
A cooldown after repeated incorrect answers invites players back to the evidence.
DESIGN CONTRIBUTION
Cultural heritage cannot only be read or viewed. It can also be investigated, played, and felt.
Situated learning
Characters become meaningful through artifacts, murals, sound, and ritual context.
Interpretive play
The puzzle rewards comparison and inference rather than repetition and recall.
Next chapters
Future chambers will introduce more inscriptions and a fuller, multidimensional account of Fu Hao.