Nydia: The Blind Flower Girl is an immersive, educational WebAR experience that lets users explore the tragic story behind the famous marble sculpture at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Created by developer Irina Fawcett and 3D artist Noah Ilbery, the experience uses 8th Wall Studio, VPS, and Gaussian Splat technology to reconstruct the world around Nydia—placing viewers in ancient Pompeii as Mt. Vesuvius erupts.
Anchored to the physical statue via VPS, the scene builds a richly detailed environment using Gaussian Splats, layered audio, and interactive hotspots. The result is a deeply atmospheric experience that blends culture, storytelling, and spatial technology.
We caught up with Irina and Noah to learn how they built it—and what advice they’d give to developers looking to experiment with spatial storytelling.
We have both been interested in and excited by the technology behind both VPS and Gaussian Splats. As we were brainstorming what we could do with this technology, we came to the conclusion that using it as an educational tool to enhance learning would be a great way for this technology to shine. The Real World Impact Challenge emphasized culture, and we thought there was no better place to utilize this tech than our local art museum, The St. Louis Art Museum.
How did 8th Wall Studio help bring your vision to life?
8th Wall Studio's geospatial map and VPS capabilities are what initially drew us in. The ability to preview activated wayspots and even trigger events right in the editor helped speed up our development process. The 3D viewport allowed us to place our 3D content precisely where we want it relative to the Nydia statue.
Scaniverse released its SPZ compressed Gaussian splat file format so that we were able to create more visually complex scenes. We also utilized Studio’s spatial audio to do some clever storytelling to mimic what Nydia was trying to listen for.
Were there any major technical challenges?
As we were testing we did run into a couple inconsistencies between iOS and Android devices. To solve this we ensured we had an apple device for initially scanning and activating our desired waypoint and then we grabbed a friend who let us borrow his iPhone during testing. Having a wide variety of devices for testing is helpful.
Another challenge we faced is that we wanted to convert a PLY to a SPZ so Niantic Studio can use it. Luckily Scaniverse made SPZ’s open-source so we were able to find a tool online to help us out with this 👉 SPZ Conversion Tool
What were the key steps you took to bring this experience to life?
What advice would you give to other developers interested in building real-world AR experiences with 8th Wall Studio?
When developing games and experiences for 3D and AR it's always important to consider the medium and the audience and how to best utilize and develop for the strengths of the medium. Ensure the type of technology used actively enhances the overall user experience and makes it more engaging and user friendly.
Where do you see the future of AR, and how does 8th Wall Studio fit into that?
AR is becoming more and more popular, especially with the shift towards web AR since it is easily accessible and requires no app download and therefore can reach a broader audience. AR experiences offer a fun and interactive way to engage with content which makes users more excited and interested in the topic.
8th Wall Studio is lowering the barrier for entry to AR creation by making tools that are accessible for beginners to hop right in and bring their creative ideas to life. 8th Wall’s supportive community also plays a large part in aiding creatives in achieving their goals and creating great work!
Explore the Project
Want to see how Irina and Noah used Gaussian Splats, spatial audio, and VPS to bring Nydia’s world to life?
Ready to create? Start building in 8th Wall Studio.
Got questions or ideas? Join the conversation on Discord.