Is Anna OK?
BBC / Aardman VR Story
Is Anna OK? was an interactive VR story created by Aardman for the BBC, released for Oculus Rift.
The experience followed the true story of twin sisters Anna and Lauren, whose lives changed after Anna was involved in a serious accident. Rather than telling the story as a traditional film, the project used VR to place the viewer inside key moments from both sisters’ perspectives.
It was a sensitive subject, so the focus was not just on making something visually interesting or technically impressive. The experience needed to feel personal, respectful and emotionally honest, while still using VR in a meaningful way.
My Role
Sole Developer / Lead Developer
I was the sole developer on the project, responsible for building the VR experience in Unity and taking the technical side from prototype through to delivery.
My role covered the core VR implementation, interaction systems, scene flow, performance, animation integration and the technical setup needed to bring Aardman’s painterly art style into a real-time VR experience.
A lot of the work was about making the technology feel invisible. The viewer needed to stay inside the story, without being distracted by loading, awkward transitions or interactions that felt too game-like.
Technical Challenges
One of the biggest challenges was creating an interactive story that moved smoothly between scenes and story moments.
Unlike a normal game, the experience was built around emotion, memory and perspective. The transitions had to feel natural and carefully timed, because any rough edge could break the tone of the piece.
Another major challenge was integrating motion capture into a stylised VR experience. The characters needed to feel believable, but they also had to sit comfortably within Aardman’s painterly visual style. That meant balancing realistic human movement with an art direction that was much more crafted and expressive.
The project also needed a simple and reliable way for players to interact with objects in VR. I created a bespoke interaction system using grab points, which allowed objects to define clear positions and behaviours for interaction. This made it easier to build consistent, authored interactions that worked well within the story, rather than relying on loose physics-based grabbing.
Performance and comfort were also important throughout. Even though this was a narrative experience rather than an action game, the frame rate, scene timing and transitions still needed to feel smooth in VR.
Key Contributions
Sole developer on the Unity VR experience.
Led the technical implementation from prototype through to delivery.
Built the interactive story flow and scene transitions.
Created a bespoke VR interaction system using grab points.
Integrated motion capture animation into the Unity project.
Helped bring Aardman’s painterly visual style into real-time VR.
Worked on performance and comfort for Oculus Rift.
Implemented interactive moments that supported the story without distracting from it.
Worked closely with the creative team to make sure the technical implementation supported the emotional tone of the piece.
Technologies
Unity, C#, Oculus Rift, VR interaction, interactive storytelling, motion capture integration, animation systems, bespoke grab point system, scene transitions, performance optimisation, stylised real-time rendering.
Outcome
Is Anna OK? was a powerful example of VR being used for more than spectacle. It showed how interactive technology could help tell a personal story in a more direct and emotional way.
For me, the project was a strong example of using Unity and VR to support narrative rather than dominate it. The technical work was about making the experience feel seamless, believable and respectful, so the viewer could stay focused on Anna and Lauren’s story.