Shadow Work
The Shadow, and the Self
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave tells the story of prisoners trapped in darkness, mistaking shadows for reality. In modern psychology, shadow work is the practice of confronting the hidden parts of oneself—the fears, desires, and biases we suppress — much like Plato’s prisoners stepping into the light.
What if a game could make you wrestle with your own shadow? What if AI, rather than being a tool, became a reflection of your own choices?
- Community Hack @ MIT Reality Hack 2025 -
Date
January 2025
Duration
72 hours
Type
Designer, Prototyper, Videographer
Achievement
Featured Community Hack Project @ MIT Reality Hackathon
A Vision of Play, Combining 2D & 3D.
Shadow Work is a single-player VR experience where you manipulate a 3D light source to cast shadows on a 2D plane. Your goal is to guide your shadow avatar through obstacle courses, helping it find its way back to you. There are over 3 levels of difficulty, and multiple maps per level. The game is built for the Meta Quest using Unity.
The name Shadow Work draws inspiration from Carl Jung’s concept of the "shadow self," which explores the parts of us we often suppress—our fears, insecurities, and emotions. It resonates with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, where humans mistake shadows for reality. The game reflects this idea: using light to navigate darkness, uncover what’s hidden, and move forward.
Bridging Two Worlds
Traditional platformers operate within a fixed dimensional space, but what if movement wasn’t limited to one perspective?
By casting light onto 3D objects, we allow players to reshape the terrain of the 2D world in real-time. Shadows become pathways, obstacles, and even guides, forming a bridge between two seemingly separate dimensions.
This hybrid approach challenges conventional spatial awareness, forcing players to think in multiple planes at once.
Tools & Technologies used
🛠 Unity – Developed real-time light-shadow physics and AI behavior
🎨 Blender + SketchUp – Modeled 3D assets to create dynamic light-based puzzles
🖌 Adobe Illustrator + Fresco – Designed UI, game title, and level layouts
