VR CASE STUDY
TERRACOTTA WARIORS - SECRETS OF THE FIRST EMPEROR'S MAUSOLEUM
AN IMMERSIVE EXPERieNCE AT THE SITE OF THE EMPeRoR'S MAUSOLEUM WHICH BRINGS HISTORY TO LIFE THROUGH AN ENGAGING VR ADVENTURE
[ 2025 ]
[ VR ]
The aim of the project was nothing less than to experience the impossible – stepping back in time to explore the still-sealed Mausoleum that is pivotal to Chinese history.
Wevr and Vive Arts approached Draw & Code to help create a new VR experience that would bring the First Emperor’s Mausoleum in Xi’an to life as never before. Our brief was to create 3D art, characters and objects for this spectacular location-based entertainment experience, which is opening next to the actual site of the Mausoleum.
The project was intended to allow visitors to step into the Mausoleum just before it was sealed for all eternity. Intertwined with the factual depiction of the creation of the Warriors, a fictional guide to the site will help visitors to become explorers, discovering the Mausoleum for the first time.
For project leads Wevr, it wasn’t just our 3D and VR credentials that made us the ideal partner. Draw & Code have completed multiple projects involving the Terracotta Warriors IP, including a leading role in the design of the successful immersive China’s First Emperor experience in Liverpool during 2018.
Draw & Code’s role was to create optimised 3D assets for VR, including the characters and objects that would bring the virtual environment to life. The finished experience would be around 40 minutes in duration, meaning a sizeable amount of content would be required.
Getting the look of the 3D world to feel right was of vital importance – the Warriors themselves are globally known, and to have the experience opening next to the site in Xi’an added an extra layer of responsibility to the source material. While much of the site is visible to visitors, the Mausoleum itself remains sealed, so this virtual recreation will be as close as you can get to experiencing the interior of this globally significant place.
Aside from the lead explorer character, most of the objects would be pulled from historical knowledge and had to adhere to the designs, proportions and colours that the expert research suggested. All of the resulting 3D files were to be designed for use in Unreal Engine and optimised for the mobile-based chipset of HTC’s Vive Focus Vision standalone VR headset.
Terracotta Warriors: Secrets of the First Emperor’s Mausoleum opened at the world-famous historic location last year, a stone’s throw from the actual Mausoleum. The high throughput attraction sees up to 150 people per hour enjoying the full-length virtual reality show – it’s as ambitious in its scale and organisation as it is in terms of content and technology.
A keyword in the production process was ‘presence’ – something that virtual reality provides in spades. Creating optimised 3D assets for VR is something that Draw & Code have a lot of experience in and the Vive Focus Vision is an excellent choice of standalone headset for an LBE install such as this.
In essence, the 3D component was about creating a digital twin without having all of the knowledge of the environment and objects that needed to be replicated in VR. While there is a lot of mystery surrounding the site, there is enough knowledge of what lies beneath the soil in this Shaanxi farming region to create something that is as true to the real story as possible. For the first time in over 2000 years, it’s possible to feel the presence of the contemporary world of the Terracotta Warriors.
