Project Overview

Pre-Op VR was developed at Cognitant for Hull University Teaching Hospitals’ wider Pre-Op Assistant initiative, supported by the NHS. The experience helps reduce last-minute surgery cancellations by immersing patients in stylised hospital and home environments, accessible via Meta Quest and Healthinote. I was responsible for creating the characters, props, and environments in Blender, optimising them for VR, and implementing scenes in Unity.

Key Technical Contributions:

  • Implemented a gradient palette atlas texturing system for efficiency and consistency.

  • Imported and lit complete environments in Unity, placing assets for gameplay integration.

  • Rigged six characters for lightweight off-the-shelf animations, adapted for idle and talking loops.

Project Trailer

Case study showing in-game VR footage, combining characters, props, and environments in Unity on Meta Quest

Environments

Home - Apartment

Hospital - Waiting room

Hospital - Ward

Hospital - Operating Theatre

Hospital and home environments created to real-world scale, stylised for clarity and performance in VR.

Home Assets

Furniture and props designed for a stylised residential environment, optimized for VR performance.

Layout of a living room with a purple 2-seater sofa, a TV on a white and wood TV unit, an exercise bike, a coffee table, and a green rug.
A digital illustration of a kitchen with blue cabinets, a brown countertop, a stove, a refrigerator with magnets, and a range hood. There are additional furniture pieces in the foreground: a breakfast bar, a bar stool, a dining table, and a dining chair.
Diagram of a bedroom with labeled furniture including a bedside table on the left, a bed in the center on a large green rug with orange bedding, and a chest of drawers on the right.
A simplified illustration of a room with various organized items labeled: keys hanging on the wall, pictures on a shelf, books in stacks, a game console with controller, an ashtray with cigarette, and the room has framed photos hanging on the wall.
Arrangement of various travel and daily essentials on a flat surface labeled with item categories, including kettle and toaster, gym bag, cereal boxes, wine bottle, medicine, fruit bowl, dinnerware, laptop, and mugs.
Display of various ceiling and floor lamps against a beige wall with the word 'Lights' in the center.

Hospital Assets

Medical props and furniture created to match real-world equipment while maintaining the stylised aesthetic.

A water cooler, vending machine, and chair are positioned above two tables, one large and one small, on a gray background with labels for each item.
Medical equipment including two adjustable hospital beds, one with a pillow and the other with a paper sheet, and a trolley with a monitor displaying vital signs, all against a plain gray background.
Illustration of three items: a get well card with a rainbow on it on the left, a purple heart-shaped balloon in the middle, and a glass of water on the right.
Medical room with white wall units and desk, a whiteboard with handwritten notes, sanitizer dispensers, a control panel, and labels indicating their functions.
Diagram of an operating room setup with surgical lights overhead, an operation table in the center, and an anesthesia machine to the right.
Organization of office desk with ring binders, desktop computer, letter tray, clipboard, and magazine.
A wall with NHS style signage, including directions to Waiting Area, Changing Room, Operation Theatre, and Recovery Room, and blue buttons labeled Operation Theatre and Changing Room. There are fire safety items including fire exit signs, fire alarms, and fire extinguishers. Several posters promoting healthy living and safety are displayed, along with a clock at the top reading approximately 10:10.
Arrangement of medical equipment and furniture labeled as vital signs trolley, stackable chairs, over-bed table, bedside table, and headwall with medical outlets on a plain wall.
A collection of ten house plants in various pots with the caption 'House Plants' at the bottom
Image showing six medical equipment and furniture items labeled as 'Crash cart', 'Anesthesia trolley', 'Stool', 'Large surgical table', and 'Surgical table' against a grey background.
An office wall with labeled items: filing cabinet on the left, notice board in the center above a desk, strip light overhead, photocopier on the right, and the desk below the notice board.
Diagram illustrating modular elements for building and landscaping, including a modular building, a modular path with a tree, and a modular road with brick edges.

Characters

Six stylised characters created to guide the patients through the VR training. Designed with simplified forms, efficient topology, and clean texturing for VR performance.

Husband, Receptionist, and Nurse

Surgeon, Anaesthetist, and ODP (Operating Department Practitioner)

Technical Approach

The brief required low-poly characters and environments built to realistic scale and proportions. Designs were provided by the Art Director, and I was responsible for executing them in a way that balanced performance with visual consistency.

To optimise the pipeline, I implemented a gradient palette atlas texturing system, allowing multiple assets and characters to share the same material set. This kept textures lightweight, reduced draw calls, and ensured a consistent stylised look across the project.

Once environments were complete, I imported them into Unity, setting up scene lighting and object placement before handing over to the development team for gameplay integration.

Characters were rigged for compatibility with off-the-shelf animations, which I adapted to create lightweight idle and talking loops. This approach saved production time while keeping the overall style cohesive and performant in VR.