Glowkeeper

The problem

Within TRIPP's Sanctum — the platform's core MR wellness space — virtual gifts were passive and decorative. Users received them, glanced at them, and moved on. The gifts did nothing to leverage mixed reality's defining affordance: the user's body moving through physical space. The challenge was to design a gift experience that felt meaningful, encouraged repeat visits, and used room-scale interaction — all without introducing competitive pressure or anxiety into a therapeutic environment. Retention was the business goal; wonder was the design goal.

Design constraints

Three constraints shaped every decision:

• 01Brand fit — the experience had to align with TRIPP's calming, wonder-focused identity. No timers, no scores, no failure states.
• 02Engineering scope — I would build this solo in Unity. Complexity needed to stay manageable.
• 03Measurable retention impact — success defined by DAU/MAU lift, sessions per user per week, repeat-play rate, and gift completion rate.

The core mechanic

Glowkeeper is a jar full of glowing fireflies. Users open it, watch the fireflies scatter into their physical space, then collect them back by moving the jar through the room. The mechanic was chosen deliberately. Opening, releasing, and recollecting map to existing physical interaction schemas — so users understand the interaction instinctively without instruction. The spatial component (moving the jar through real space to catch fireflies) creates genuine physical engagement without competition. The experience ends when the jar is full again, providing natural closure without a failure state. This design is grounded in self-determination theory: it supports autonomy (users move freely), competence (collection succeeds eventually for everyone), and relatedness (the gift is shareable). All three needs support intrinsic motivation and repeat engagement.

PRD & implementation

I wrote a full Product Requirements Document covering user stories, interaction flows, and the retention metrics we'd track. In the second half of the internship I learned Unity and built Blender assets for the firefly models and jar, iterating on gesture mechanics — specifically the threshold for 'catching' a firefly — based on team playtest feedback.

In the headset

The final experience runs in TRIPP's Sanctum MR space. Users receive the Glowkeeper jar from their Giftbox, lift the lid to release the fireflies into their room, then collect them back by moving the jar through their physical space. The jar glows brighter as it fills, becoming a persistent ambient lantern once complete. The gestures — lifting a lid, catching something floating nearby — feel intuitive because they map to physical memory. No tutorial needed.