Edward
Felix
Designing spaces in VR isn’t so different from building them in the real world, both are about creating environments that are memorable and worth exploring. My work blends these two practices: I’ve learned that the tricks of theme park design make VR spaces more believable, and that VR tools can make real-world projects clearer and more exciting.
I focus on world-building and the flow of spaces, the way light and sound guide attention, and how transitions can turn a short experience into something that feels expansive. Whether it’s a haunted house, a heritage dark ride, or a VR mini-golf course, the goal is the same: to create a place where people forget they’re “visiting” and feel like they belong.
As Modeling Lead on Walkabout Mini Golf, I’ve helped bring more than 30 courses to life in VR. Each level isn’t just a mini-golf course, it’s a world players can step into and remember. From romantic Venetian canals to sprawling mythical gardens, my focus has been on shaping environments that feel alive and invite discovery.
The process starts with a simple block-out: the flow of holes, the path a player might walk. My role is to transform those rough layouts into fully realised spaces, replacing placeholder geometry with crafted meshes and textures, defining the visual tone, and making sure every vista and transition supports the sense of adventure. On some levels, I worked closely with concept artists; on others, like the space course, I had the freedom to set the creative direction from the ground up.
Because Walkabout runs on the mobile chipset of the Meta Quest, every design decision is a balancing act: keeping the worlds rich and detailed while optimising them to run smoothly at 90fps. That meant careful texture work, custom LODs, and smart use of atlases, all without sacrificing the magic of the environments.
Beyond building worlds, I’ve designed collectible balls and unlockable putters, small rewards that encourage exploration and give each course its own playful personality. And as the team grew, I took on a leadership role, guiding other artists, reviewing their work, and helping them navigate the technical limits of VR while still delivering ambitious, beautiful spaces.
Some of my most notable contributions include Sweetopia, Labyrinth, Shangri La, Original Gothic, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, El Dorado, Myst, and Wallace & Gromit. Together with the team, we’ve built a game that remains one of the highest-rated multiplayer VR experiences worldwide.
One of my favourite projects was designing a haunted house that needed to be both durable and flexible, strong enough to stand up to crowds, but modular so it could be disassembled, moved, and reassembled in new locations. The layout also had to accommodate hidden performers, multiple scare zones, and a theme that tied the whole experience together.
Instead of relying on flat sketches, I built the house first in virtual reality. This let the client walk through the attraction before a single panel was constructed, complete with lighting, soundscapes, and animatronic placements. We could test the timing of scares, refine the flow, and make changes instantly, saving both time and cost compared to adjusting mid-build.
The result was a design that everyone could see, feel, and get excited about from day one. Since then, I’ve made VR pre-visualisation a standard part of my process for Luna Park’s Halloween installations, giving stakeholders the confidence that what they experience in VR will be what’s delivered in reality.
Shown above is the process used to realise a section of the virtual reality haunt where a visitor would come face to face with a giant spider!
This creature design was developed for an exploration-based horror game set in an abandoned mine. Intended to make only occasional appearances, the client’s brief described a “large scuttling creature.” Over the course of several meetings, a concept sketch was developed and refined, culminating in a digital maquette that received client approval.
A game-ready model was then crafted, incorporating high-detail features through a baking process, and subsequently textured using a physically based rendering (PBR) workflow. Although the creature is not currently in use, it serves as an excellent example of a character design process that can be applied to both digital and physical environments.
While the creature remains unnamed, it is affectionately referred to as “Bert” within the project team.
For April Fool’s 2023, I decided to imagine what Walkabout Mini Golf might look like if it had been released on the Commodore 64. Over a single weekend, I designed and built a flat, 8-bit version of the game in Unity; handling all of the art, animation, and design myself. A fun challenge was translating the game’s theme music from the incredible Chris Reyman into a piece that could play on a Commodore SID chip.
The goal was simple: capture the charm of Walkabout in a totally different format. The result was a pixel-perfect homage that re-created the first course in a retro arcade style, complete with nostalgic visuals and sound. What started as a joke quickly turned into something bigger.
The project became the basis for 8-Bit Lair tie-in, where the mini-golf game was placed inside a virtual arcade cabinet built in collaboration with Arcade Legend VR. Players could step into a virtual arcade, walk up to the cabinet, and play my game as if it were a real game in the arcade of their dreams.
What began as a playful side experiment became a fully integrated piece of Walkabout’s universe, proof that sometimes the best ideas come from exploring “what if?” in unexpected directions.
You can play the game on:
walkaboutminigolf.net
