yijia-li__unknown__ual__2025

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School: RCA
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Year: 2025
Author(s):

Source: https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/project/616096/cover

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# Project Description

Aetherfall

Yijia Li

Summary

Final work

Awards

Nominated | MullenLowe NOVA Awards 2025

Yijia Li is a designer and creative technologist whose practice merges 3D game development with critical inquiry into human-AI interaction. Using speculative design and technical experimentation, she investigates the psychological and societal dynamics of digital spaces, provoking reflection on the evolving relationship between humans and intelligent machines.

Yijia Li is a designer and creative technologist whose practice merges 3D game development with c...

College Central Saint Martins

Course MA Narrative Environments

Graduation year 2025

An asymmetric VR game experience interrogating the unequal dynamics of control between human and AI systems, revealing the quiet hierarchies embedded in our interactions with technology.

Aetherfall foregrounds the asymmetrical power dynamics between human ingenuity and AI omniscience, probing whether artificial systems can truly understand, replicate, or ultimately surpass human creativity.

The game mechanics are designed to simulate AI’s control over human agency in subtle yet powerful ways. The asymmetry between the VR player (AI) and the PC player (human) mirrors the real-world dynamic where AI operates from an unseen, omnipresent perspective, shaping human choices without direct intervention.

Collaborators:

Sitraka Rakotoniaina, Project Consultant

Miao Su, Interaction & Level Designer

Richeng Liu, Interaction & Game Mechanics Designer

Fanrui Sun, Character Designer

Xiyan Chen, Workflow Supervision

Zhen Liu, Narrative Designer

Boyu Liu / William Wang , Technical Support

Yutong Zhou / Krista Fu, Graphic Designers

Final work

Aetherfall: A Game of Asymmetric Intelligence

Step into a speculative future where AI governs, and human creativity is a fading resource. This asymmetrical VR-PC co-op game explores the power dynamic between humans and AI.

Mind Palace Awakens

The human player finding a Creativity Fragment and entering a glowing mind palace, sparking creative rebirth.

VR controls

Gesture and head movement let the VR player reshape the world, guiding or misleading the PC player.

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# Links

## Official page
- https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/project/616096/cover

## External
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/yijia7080452aa
- https://www.instagram.com/lyra_nanaki
- https://liyijia.me/
- tel:86 18500529712
- mailto:lyj851108695@gmail.com
- https://forms.arts.ac.uk/client-enquiry-form/
- https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F616096%2Fcover&text=Aetherfall
- https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F616096%2Fcover&media=https%3A%2F%2Fportfolio-tools.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F05%2F09185553%2Fcoverpage3.0.png&description=Aetherfall