Onset
Onset is an empathy-based narrative VR experience set in the hutongs of modern-day Beijing.
Players step into the lives of two people: an aging painter living quietly with late-stage Alzheimer’s disease, and the estranged son who returns to care for him. As the father’s memories slip away, the son uses objects, paintings, and shared moments to reawaken the past — uncovering the truth about why his father left, and finding a fragile chance at reconciliation before those memories disappear for good.
Told across seven chapters from both the father’s and the son’s perspectives, Onset uses the intimacy and presence of virtual reality to put players inside someone else’s shoes — and inside a mind slowly coming undone. It is a story about memory, regret, family, and the things we wish we had said, designed to build understanding of Alzheimer’s and mental health through interactive storytelling rather than exposition.
Onset is a roughly three-hour experience planned for Meta Quest, Steam, Oculus Desktop, and PlayStation VR, releasing in both English and Chinese. Inspired by narrative games such as What Remains of Edith Finch, Firewatch, Old Man’s Journey, and A Fisherman’s Tale, it recreates a living, breathing Beijing hutong as a world worth remembering.
简体中文
《Onset》是一款以共情为核心的叙事性 VR 体验，故事发生在当代北京的胡同里。玩家将走进两个人的生活：一位身患阿尔茨海默病晚期、独自安静作画的年迈画家，以及回到父亲身边照顾他、却与他久已疏远的儿子。随着父亲的记忆逐渐消逝，儿子借助旧物、画作与共处的点滴唤醒过去——揭开父亲当年离家的真相，并在记忆彻底消失之前，寻得一次脆弱却珍贵的和解机会。
《Onset》以七个章节展开，分别从父亲与儿子的视角讲述。借助虚拟现实特有的沉浸感与临场感，它让玩家真正设身处地地走进另一个人的内心，走进一段正在慢慢崩解的记忆。这是一个关于记忆、悔恨、亲情，以及那些来不及说出口的话的故事，希望通过互动叙事而非说教，让人们更加理解阿尔茨海默病与心理健康。
《Onset》体验时长约三小时，计划登陆 Meta Quest、Steam、Oculus Desktop 与 PlayStation VR，并推出英文与中文两个版本。本作的灵感来自《艾迪芬奇的记忆》(What Remains of Edith Finch)、《看火人》(Firewatch)、《老人的旅程》(Old Man’s Journey) 和《渔夫的故事》(A Fisherman’s Tale) 等叙事游戏，力求重现一个鲜活生动、值得铭记的北京胡同世界。
