Lakeside Mental Health Metaverse Experience
Healthcare & Education • Lead Developer
The Challenge
Lakeside, a professional mental health organization working with world-renowned experts like Dr. Sandra Bloom, needed an immersive digital experience to showcase their services and therapeutic approaches. The project had stalled with their previous development team at 40% completion, and they needed someone to rescue the build and deliver a polished, functional experience.
Key Systems & Features Built
- Custom Avatar System – Multi-avatar distribution system with dialog integration
- Dialog & Audio System – Converted existing codebase into robust dialog system with synchronized audio files, text, and avatar animations
- Transportation Pod – Vehicle-like travel system for navigating between stations Interactive Minigames – Bubble popping mechanics and other therapeutic activities Progress Saving – Complete save/load system tracking player completion across sessions
- Teleportation Map – Quick navigation system across 5 major stations
- 3D Visualizations – Holographic brain model, oximeter attachment animations, and medical equipment
- Animated Pet System – Custom pet companions using client-provided models Mobile Optimization – Full cross-platform performance tuning
Technical Approach
I inherited a partially completed project with significant technical debt and immediately focused on creating a seamless player journey. The core challenge was ensuring all systems worked together flawlessly—from the initial avatar selection through five distinct therapeutic stations, each with its own learning experiences and minigames.
The dialog system became the backbone of the experience, synchronizing audio narration, text overlays, and character animations to create an engaging educational flow. I rebuilt the existing code architecture to be more maintainable and extensible, allowing the client to easily update content without developer intervention.
Mobile optimization was critical, as Lakeside wanted the experience accessible from any device. I implemented aggressive performance optimizations while maintaining visual fidelity, ensuring smooth 60fps gameplay even on lower-end mobile devices.
The transportation pod system solved a unique UX challenge: how to make traveling between physically distant stations feel intentional and therapeutic rather than tedious. The solution combined automated movement with ambient environmental storytelling.
Outcome
Successfully delivered a 30+ minute immersive experience spanning 5 major therapeutic stations. The experience is now live and being used by Lakeside to give patients and families a preview of their services from home.
The project required close collaboration with Lakeside’s leadership team over six months, with an agile workflow allowing for rapid iteration based on clinical expert feedback. The result is a polished, accessible mental health education tool that accurately represents Lakeside’s therapeutic approach.