SPace

Client: Singapore Polytechnic. Year: 2023. Produced through: Big 3 Media.

A fully multiplayer, browser-based 3D campus experience that reimagined the open house as a shared, hybrid physical–digital journey.

The question

As Singapore Polytechnic prepared for its annual open house near the tail end of the pandemic, there was uncertainty around attendance and reach. The challenge was not simply to replicate a physical open house online, but to create an experience that felt social, spatial, and engaging for prospective students both on-site and remote. The solution needed to work across devices, support large audiences, and remain approachable for first-time users unfamiliar with virtual worlds.

The approach

• We designed SPace as a fully multiplayer 3D environment accessible via mobile and desktop browsers, allowing prospective students to explore a shared virtual campus together. Rather than relying on static pages, information was embedded into space, encouraging discovery through movement and exploration.
• The experience was conceived as a hybrid system. Remote users could attend the open house entirely within the virtual campus, while on-site visitors engaged with SPace through a digital treasure hunt that connected real-world locations with their virtual counterparts. This allowed the digital and physical experiences to reinforce each other rather than exist in parallel.
• From a technical perspective, the system balanced real-time multiplayer behaviour with the constraints of browser-based 3D. Performance, stability, and clarity were prioritised so the environment felt alive and social without overwhelming users or requiring specialised hardware.

Selected images

• Wide view of the shared virtual campus designed to communicate scale and spatial identity.
• The gachapon system wherein users can spend their currency on acquiring new costume pieces through a blind box mechanic
• Hybrid interaction linking on-site exploration with the virtual treasure hunt.
• Our team at Big 3 Media manning the booths for the phygital treasure hunt running across the SP campus and SPace

Reflection

SPace reinforced my belief that digital environments work best when they are treated as places rather than platforms. Designing a shared virtual campus that could function independently while also augmenting a physical event required a careful balance between ambition and accessibility. The experience needed to feel alive and social without assuming any prior familiarity with virtual worlds.

A significant part of the challenge sat beneath the surface. To support a large, explorable space within the constraints of mobile and browser-based devices, we designed a bespoke memory management system that allowed areas to load seamlessly without increasing runtime memory. This made it possible for users to move fluidly through the environment without interruptions, even on lower-spec hardware.

We also relied on a range of rendering and optimisation techniques to achieve visual richness while maintaining smooth performance. Careful control over lighting, asset complexity, and draw calls allowed the experience to run at up to 60fps on weaker devices. This project reaffirmed for me that technical rigour and experiential quality are not opposing forces, but partners in creating spaces that feel both accessible and convincing.

Press

• Marketing-Interactive: Making SPace for virtual experiences with real-world impact

Credits

Singapore Polytechnic