Echoes of Time: VR Storytelling with Prehistoric Music

Echoes of Time is a speculative and sensory VR experience that explores how prehistoric humans—specifically the Cro-Magnon—might have used sound and cave art to tell stories and shape culture. Inspired by the Chauvet Cave paintings and the oldest known musical instrument—a bone flute—the project reimagines an ancient performance through interactive virtual storytelling.

Set within a ghostly, immersive cave, users are invited to participate in a musical ritual using a flute-playing mechanic that simulates real-world finger and breath controls. The experience runs on Quest 2 and cleverly uses microphone input to register breath, along with hand-tracked hole-covering interactions. Players can choose between two melodies—red or green—each one shaping the narrative’s outcome and the behavior of mysterious animated characters.

Responding to the music are two ethereal figures: a spectral rhino and a ghost-like human, both inspired by cave art and modeled in a tubular visual style that bridges primitive illustration with contemporary digital design. The acoustics of the cave shift subtly as the player performs, deepening the sense of place and ritual.

Behind the scenes, the music was generated using AI models trained on bone flute compositions and layered with additional ambient textures to match the otherworldly tone. Developed in Unity with original 3D assets and multiple AI tools, Echoes of Time invites audiences to reconsider the roots of music, myth, and media by stepping into a speculative past where sound and spirit merged into immersive storytelling.