about.

Underwater: The Living Ocean is a family-friendly immersive environment that transforms an ordinary room into a living ocean ecosystem. Rather than presenting visitors with goals, scores, or instructions, the experience invites them to simply explore, play, and be present.

As guests walk across the projected ocean floor, sand shifts beneath their feet, schools of fish respond to their movement, shells and sea life appear and disappear, and the environment gradually transforms from day into a bioluminescent nighttime seascape. Every interaction is subtle and intuitive, encouraging curiosity over competition.

The project explores the idea that meaningful interaction doesn't always require complex mechanics. Sometimes the most memorable experiences emerge from small moments of discovery—a trail left in the sand, a fish swimming alongside you, or the quiet wonder of lying beneath a glowing underwater sky.

Developed in Unity using projection mapping and interactive tracking technologies, Underwater: The Living Ocean demonstrates MAZIART's approach to creating immersive public experiences that are accessible, visually rich, and designed for audiences of all ages. The installation balances digital technology with simple human behaviour, inviting visitors to reconnect with a sense of play, imagination, and shared experience.

director’s statement.

“I wasn't interested in making another interactive game.

There are already countless digital experiences asking us to complete tasks, earn points, optimize our performance, or hold our attention for as long as possible. I wanted to explore the opposite: an environment that asks nothing of you except that you slow down and look around.

Underwater: The Living Ocean was designed around passive interactivity. The technology responds to you, but it never demands anything from you. The experience unfolds through curiosity rather than objectives, allowing visitors to move at their own pace and discover small moments of delight together.

One of the central ideas behind the project is that play doesn't disappear as we grow older—it simply becomes less socially acceptable. Children instinctively chase shadows, draw lines in the sand, pretend to be sharks, and invent stories from their surroundings. Adults often need permission to do the same. By creating an environment that gently rewards exploration without ever becoming a game, I hope to create a space where families can share that sense of wonder together.

The gradual transition from daylight to a glowing bioluminescent night reflects this emotional arc. What begins as energetic exploration slowly gives way to contemplation, inviting visitors to pause, look upward, and simply exist within the environment for a moment.

For me, immersive technology is most successful when it becomes almost invisible. It shouldn't overwhelm the visitor with spectacle; it should quietly encourage connection—with the space, with the people around us, and with the part of ourselves that still knows how to play.” – Maziar Ghaderi