INTRODUCTION:
“Magic You” is a virtual reality interactive narrative experience. It is a coming-of-age story about ADHD, with joys, anxieties, bitter memories, and growing pains, told in a hand-drawn, coloured-pencil aesthetic as a magical journey. The artwork hopes to present the experiences and imagination of ADHD patients to the audience in a poetic way and give the audience a better understanding of ADHD, a manifestation of neurodiversity.
The artwork’s experience unfolds across six key scenarios, blending surreal representations with interactive storytelling. As players progress through each stage of growth, the complexity of interactions deepens, introducing more dynamic and engaging elements. Players are encouraged to explore these scenarios spontaneously, immersing themselves in the following six scenes: “The First Birthday” (featuring Zhuazhou, a traditional Chinese ritual), “Adolescence,” “Adulthood,” “Surreal Tower,” and “Reconciliation”.
The interactions and artistic effects are inspired by two primary symptoms of ADHD: “Attention Deficit” and “Hyperactivity.” Grounded in research and interviews with ADHD individuals, each scene reflects specific symptoms associated with different life stages. For instance, the transformation of paper balls into paper planes draws from childhood memories shared by ADHD patients who fondly recalled playing with paper balls. Elements such as unreadable text and objects that cannot be grasped mirror common challenges faced by ADHD individuals. Additionally, flickering, colourful objects in each scene serve a dual purpose: they distract the player’s attention while guiding them toward interactive elements.
Director /Writer / Technical Artist : Tongze Guo
Producer : Wen Zhou
Presented by Xiangrong Xiao
Executive Producer: Chenchen Chen, Zhuokai Wang, Yansong Chen, Shaolong Liu
Academic Support:Ni Ding
Main Cast: Jasmine Leong
Production Manager: Nanabaha
Technical Developer: Vico
Sound Designer: Boyuan Chen
Music edit: Chenchen Chen
Designer: Tongze Guo, Zhilin Wan
Graphic Design: Minhui Li
Screenplay Planner: Biheng Guo, Ke Meng
Art production:Nanabaha,Pattie Zn,JunMing Su, Xin Song
Project consultant:Rosie Huang, Lin Che
Production:Art and Technology Innovation Center, Beijing Normal University. School of Arts & Communication, Beijing Normal University.
Magic You was born from my fascination with how virtual reality can translate invisible inner experiences into shared, embodied journeys. ADHD, often misunderstood and stigmatized, became the lens through which I sought to explore attention, memory, and identity—not only as clinical symptoms, but also as living fragments of a mind constantly in motion. I chose VR not simply as a medium, but as a language of empathy. The dreamlike visual style, the fragmented narrative, and the intimate interactions are all designed to mirror the fluid, non-linear nature of thought itself. Instead of telling a story about ADHD, I wanted to invite the audience to step inside it—to feel the dissonance, the rhythm, and the poetry of a wandering mind. For me, Magic You is less about representation and more about resonance. I hope each participant, regardless of their own background, discovers something of themselves within the shifting landscapes—whether it is a memory, a struggle, or a hidden magic waiting to be acknowledged. As a director, I believe immersive media is not only a technical frontier, but also a human one. With this work, I wanted to blur the boundary between art and technology, and to remind us that every person carries a unique magic within them, waiting to be seen and felt.