# Project Description

Anima Ex Machina

Bohao Lei

Summary

Final work

Behao’s work mostly focuses on the themes of alien colonization, future society, philosophy and cultural revitalization, viewing these issues from a dialectical perspective. He examines issues from multiple perspectives and uses multidisciplinary knowledge to investigate topics.

Behao’s work mostly focuses on the themes of alien colonization, future society, philosophy...

College Central Saint Martins

Course MA Narrative Environments

Graduation year 2025

The story follows Orion Daris, a former computer science student who lost his girlfriend Amina in a tragic brain-machine interface experiment. Traumatised by the incident, Orion grew increasingly fearful of technology. Years later, having abandoned his studies and working as a salesman, he unexpectedly receives a mysterious new virtual reality device from an unknown organisation along with a letter that mentions Amina. Driven by the need for answers, Orion connects to Cyberspace, only to find himself entangled in a dangerous conflict between powerful tech conglomerates.

The story unfolds in a future where artificial intelligence, memory manipulation, and brain-machine interfaces reshape human consciousness, yet these advancements lie in the hands of monopolistic corporations. The narrative challenges players to rethink their attitude to technology. It argues that technology itself is neutral, its value determined by the intent of those who wield it.

As machines take over more of our abilities, the boundaries between AI and humanity are blurred. What truly remains ours, and are the enduring traits of humanity our greatest strengths or merely fading relics of a past that may soon be forgotten?

For more information, please visit our website.

A project co-directed with Haoyu Zou .

Collaborators:

Sitraka Rakotoniaina, Project Mentor

Yuhuan Shen, Logo Designer & Narrative Consultant

Steven Mayer, Fundamental Game System Developer

Final work

Anima Ex Machina Trailer

Story prologue about Orion as he enters Chimera's database via Cyberspace, led by a mysterious hacker, to uncover Amina's death

In-game Footage

Demo presenting the game's basic interaction in the first level: conversing, picking up key items and reading information

Environments

Video showing renders of the four levels: Local Network – Internet – Search Engine – Chimera Corp’s Database

View Gallery

View Gallery

Share this project

The story follows Orion Daris, a former computer science student who lost his girlfriend Amina in a tragic brain-machine interface experiment. Traumatised by the incident, Orion grew increasingly fearful of technology. Years later, having abandoned his...

A link to this page has been added to your clipboard

Browse related work

Being Human

Beyond Human

Digital Experiences

Futures

Conflict & Its Effects

Mental Health

Places & Spaces

Play

Realities

Identity

Story & Myth

Games

Narrative

Spatial

ScienceFiction

Storytelling

AI

Technology

3dDesign

Interaction

Design