Lingyi Zhou
Portfolio Website
All My Works

Ex. AR Engineer @ Snap Inc.
Ex. Unity Engineer @ Unity

MFA Design and Technology @ Parsons
MA Game Design & Development @ Columbia
XR Developer
AR Development in Lens Studio & Effect House.
VR Development in Unity for Oculus Quest and Apple Vision Pro
Game Developer
Unity Development for desktop and mobile games
Shader knowledge and development experience
3D Designer
Blender and Maya for stylized and realistic modeling and rendering  
Cinema4D for animation and procedural modelling  
Full Stack Engineer
React front end + FastAPI Backend + Postgre database
Graphic Designer
Adobe Indesign, Adobe Illustrator

VR Magic

VR Magic is a fantasy-themed VR experience where players cast spells using VR controllers. From swirling fireballs to floating energy shields, each spell is powered by controller input and Unity's particle system—creating visually rich and immersive feedback that makes you feel like a true sorcerer.

🔧 Tech Stack

  • Engine: Unity
  • Platform: VR (Oculus Quest)
  • Languages: C#
  • Features: Controller-based spellcasting, custom particle effects, VR interaction system

Why This Game?

As a fan of fantasy worlds and spellcasting systems, I wanted to create an experience where players could actually "feel" magic through VR controllers. This game brings that dream to life—intuitive button combinations and trigger actions let you cast spells naturally. With responsive visual and audio feedback, every controller input becomes a magical performance.

🛠 The Making of the Game

I built a spell-casting system based on VR controller inputs and button combinations. Designing fluid particle effects for each spell was a fun challenge—balancing beauty, performance, and reactivity in VR. The goal was to make the player feel powerful through intuitive controller interactions.

Gameplay Overview

  • 🪄 Controller-based casting: Use button combinations and triggers to activate different magical attacks.
  • Particle-driven magic: Each spell uses dynamic particles for satisfying visual response.
  • 🧠 Immersive challenge: Learn gestures, time your casting, and react to evolving threats.

🎮 Mechanics Demo

Each controller input is mapped to specific particle-emitting spells. For instance, pressing a trigger while holding a button might summon a fire ring, while a different combination launches a lightning bolt. Every button press and trigger pull affects timing, direction, and strength of the spell.

         * Demo footage available upon request — the final build was tested on Oculus Quest 2.
         * Some effects shown were designed with performance optimization in mind (GPU-safe particles).