About the Project
Beautiful Journey is an introspective and meditative VR experience designed for Meta Quest (2, 3, and 3S) that invites users to explore deeply personal and emotional storytelling within rich, and immersive worlds.
As the artistic director and developer of the project, I guided every creative aspect of the project, from concept through implementation, culminating in its release on the Meta Quest store . My focus was on blending narrative, interactivity, and visual design into a seamless experience.
Our small crew contributed across the board, especially as we shaped the narrative. We set out to create something that not only engages participants but also resonates on a personal level, encouraging real reflection and gratitude for presence in the world. The experience moves through different stages of life—from birth and childhood to love, failure, and beyond.
My role extended well beyond storytelling: I led technical development, crafted sound design, and collaborated closely with a multidisciplinary team to bring the vision to life.
Why / Motivation
When Dr. Brill first approached me with his interest in the intersection of art, technology, AI, and how immersive media might influence consciousness, I was immediately hooked. We wanted to create something that wasn’t just visually impressive, but genuinely impactful and beneficial for the people experiencing it.
Early on, we also experimented with AI tools to rapidly prototype ideas, test visual styles, and explore narrative structures. This let us push creative boundaries and develop concepts much faster than with traditional methods.
Drawing on Dr. Brill’s background as a psychiatrist and his work studying the stages of life, we also looked into the research around psychedelics—how, in controlled environments, they can sometimes provide clarity and new perspective. That raised a big “what if” for us: what if you could offer some of those same insights without drugs, but through a VR experience?
That became the guiding question for Beautiful Journey. Every aspect—visuals, narrative, music—was designed to help participants reach a reflective state, where they could consider their own lives and how they want to move forward. Based on comments and testimonials we’ve received, I think it’s fair to say that many people have come away from the experience with something valuable.
Process and Development
We built Beautiful Journey from scratch through a mix of traditional storytelling techniques and hands-on scene work, using scriptwriting, previsualization, and a lot of iterations. In early development, we experimented with AI to help brainstorm dialogue and unlock ideas when we hit a wall, but every script and scene was rewritten and refined by our team many times over until it fit the emotional arc and intentions we were looking for.
During our previz, we combined a few AI-generated concept images as references and then manually built them in Unreal Engine, then moved into Unity for the final VR experience. AI sped up certain other tasks, like generating temp voiceovers to test pacing, creating a few 3D assets for some of the environments, or even writing utility scripts, but the heart of the project was old-school, writing, building, and revising by hand.
The biggest time-saver was using AI to tweak voiceover scripts and create temporary narrations, so we could rapidly iterate without constantly scheduling new recording sessions. Once we had everything dialed in, we re-recorded all narration for performance, tone, and emotion.
My role was to keep the creative vision clear across all these moving parts, shaping the story, guiding technical solutions, and collaborating closely with our small multidisciplinary team. In the end, AI was a powerful assistant, but the work was all about human creativity, collaboration, and a lot of trial and error.
Impact and Audience Reactions
The most rewarding part of releasing Beautiful Journey has been hearing how people responded to the experience. We saw a wide range of emotional reactions. Some users described reconnecting with memories or loved ones. Others said it helped them process grief, and several reported feeling genuine gratitude and clarity after finishing the journey.
Feedback from testers and early users included stories of closure, tears, and a sense of peace. Some participants referenced the VR experience as a kind of guided reflection, saying it stuck with them long after the headset came off. For me, seeing people reflect on their lives in such a personal way made all the challenges of development worth it.
Key Credits
Artistic Director and Developer: Simon Quiroz
Executive Producer: Peter Brill
Producer and Composer: David Grossman
Creative Consultant and Voiceover: Karen Brill
Creative Consultant and Project Coordinator: Oriana Sanders
Watch / Download / Play
Press & Media
- Experience the Fusion of Art, XR, and AI at Santa Barbara’s Sensory Museum The VR Collective Feb 2025
- The ‘Beautiful Journey’ Opens at Santa Barbara Museum of Sensory & Movement Experiences The Santa Barbara Independent Feb 2025
- Art, Technology, Psychology Merge in Beautiful Journey Exhibit Noozhawk Jan 2025
- Beautiful Journey VR: A Transformative Virtual Reality Experience VR Today Magazine Jan 2025