The design of the main lantern of this year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival has gone viral on Taiwanese social media recently. The comments were mostly negative in the beginning due to the over-all provocative aesthetic that is drastically different from the previous main lanterns. It was courageous for the designer to risk for a chance of innovation but it seems like his artist side took over the design process and left the audience stunned with a poorly executed piece that traditionally designed to represent high craftsmanship and aesthetic in Taiwan.
↑ a collage of fan made images involved the Fulu Monkey
However, Fulu Monkey, the name of the main lantern character, has raised from the negative energy and become a star. When I saw it for the first time, I thought, design wise, it might fail as a main lantern piece for the festival, but the character design was interesting. It instantly reminded me Pokemon, and I finally found some time to put together this small Google Carboard experience that let players battle Fulu Monkey from the point of view of Pikachu. This is not a complete game, and it doesn’t have an ending to it. You can zap Fulu Monkey to your heart’s content in this little play experience. So have fun!
Made with Unity 3D and Google Cardboard. Ash 3D model is originally made by MMDSATOSHI for MMD. I ported it into Unity 3D and applied free mecanim animations on it. I built Fulu Monkey myself with simple blendshapes motions. Background music is from Pokemon X/Y. The forest is from the Unity asset store. This is a personal project as a prove of concept, not meant for commercial use. You will need a Google Cardboard to fully enjoy the VR experience.
Zap play footage:
https://www.facebook.com/kanyangli/videos/10153905008883745/
Download the VR Pokemon Battle: Wild Fulu Monkey Android Apk here:
https://goo.gl/ACxZAb
