Virtual Martin Luther King, Jr. Project

Just days after the start of the Greensboro sit-ins In February 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered what would become a widely influential speech titled, “A Creative Protest.” Despite the historical and rhetorical significance of what is commonly known as the “Fill Up the Jails” speech, no recordings exist. Here, for the first time, using advanced digital and audio technology, we provide an opportunity for scholars, students and citizens to experience and explore this important speech.

~From the Virtual Martin Luther King, Jr. Project Website

As a member of the team at NCSU working on the Virtual Martin Luther King, Jr. Project (vMLK), I worked specifically on the virtual reality recreation of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous speech titled, “A Creative Protest.” This recreation offers users the opportunity to experience what it may have been like to be in attendance during Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech.

Roles: Designer, Programmer, Animator

Software: Unity Engine

Duration: May 2020 — December 2020

Joining the team well into the project’s development, there was an emphasis on implementing new assets in order to upgrade the existing experience and an additional emphasis on broadening the methods of distribution to make the project more widely accessible. As the primary developer responsible for carrying out this upgrade process, I was responsible for writing C# scripts to control animations, audio, player input, and character/camera behavior in the Unity Engine, for creating and implementing animations for rigged models, for directing and producing 360 videos for accessible online viewing on desktop, VR, and mobile devices, and for producing distribution-ready builds for both desktop and Oculus Rift platforms.

For more information on the vMLK project, please click on the “LEARN MORE” button below to view the official project website.