Metaverse Ready Unreal 5 Ready Avatar and Character system.

My Role: Creative & Brand Director, Project Owner.

As Creative Director and Project owner of the CR01 Avatar project my responsibility was to oversee the project from strategic development, early concept and Lore to finished Unreal Engine 5 ready character system. Guiding the whole team through the different phases of the project, from my first embryo of the idea, to making sure the final product lives up to the expected outcome, follows creative theme & quality whilst aligning with set budget.

Born from street, pop, and urban culture, where individual expression and personalities can flourish and inspire others – the WSDR CR01 Unreal Engine 5-powered Avatar is ready for any immersive 3D social experience and to bring the golden era of the Graffiti & Street art scene into the Metaverse. We like to look at it as the 2023 version of the 1980s NYC subway trains, destined to immortalize legends.

The Lore has its roots before the dinosaurs, when a hyper-advanced type III civilization called the Predecessors colonized Earth. The Visual language is inspired by Sci-fi retro-futurism and deeply rooted in Urban culture. You can tell just by looking at the design of the robot. However, the CR01 is much more than what first meets the eye. It also doubles as a blank canvas for the same graffiti and sticker-tagging street art that makes the soul of bohemian neighborhoods in Berlin, London, and New York. We like to look at it as the 2023 version of a subway train in the 80s.

The Character system is what makes every CR01 genuinely unique. Every CR01 is numbered from 1 to 5 000 in Cisterian Numerals displayed on the robot's faceplate. Based on the different variables in the character system an algorithm randomly generate 5 000 unique Metaverse Ready Unreal 5 3D models using our seven building blocks:

Type
The Type refers to the base treatment of the number, material, and details on the CR01. Each defined from the CR01 Lore and Conceptual drawings. The base Type of the CR01, the Genesis is accompanied by the Orbiter, Ascension, Subnautic, Ignis, Guardian, Spectral, and Scrapper. Each serves a specific purpose in the CR01 Universe.

Condition
Like all things, the CR01 is also subject to wear and tear as time passes. To embody this we wanted CR01s to appear in all kinds of conditions, from mint to heavily damaged and everything in between. Every condition have a number of variations to add to the diversity. The conditions that we use are Smudges, Cracks, Scratches, Overgrowth, Corrosion, Chipped paint, Tempered metal, and Heavily damaged.

Equipment
Sometimes even a CR01 needs specialized equipment. Equipment can be exclusive for certain Types or be available to any CR01. Examples of Type-specific equipment are the Orbiters Drone, the Guardians Scepter, or the back-mounted Octopus arms of the Subnautic.

Charms
Inspired by urban culture, modern self-expression, and fashion, Charms are mounted on the large neck nob of the CR01 to alter its appearance and make it stand out even more. We been experimenting with three types of Charms; pure style, functional style, and partnership style.

Urban Elements
The CR01 has Urban Art built into its DNA. All street art and Graffiti on the CR01 should be made by "Real" street and Graffiti artists. Immortalizing their artwork in the Metaverse by letting the CR01 embody the spirit of street art, just like the subway trains did in the 80s.

Background
Backgrounds reflect the CR01 Universe and make the robots stand out in various ways.

Pose
To add some extra personality to the CR01 the character system also gives the ability to strike a pose. Available poses was inspired by modern pop culture and social phenomena as seen in popular games such as Fortnite, Elden Ring, or GTA V (to name a few).