Rice University School of Engineering and Computing, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Immersive Learning · Cross-Platform Experience

Hurricane Heroes

A cross-platform hurricane learning experience for forecasting, decision making, and safety

Authors
Rachael Kaye, Alex Vuong, Alexandra Barret, Robert LiKamWa
Play on Steam

Hurricane Heroes brings students into the work of storm forecasting, field observation, and emergency response through a three-act narrative designed for desktop and virtual-reality play.

Introduction: Situating Meteorology Knowledge in Consequence

Hurricane Heroes is a three-act, narrative-based learning environment for introductory meteorology. Rather than presenting hurricane concepts as detached facts, it situates forecasting, data interpretation, risk communication, and emergency response within the interdependent work that occurs before, during, and after landfall.

Hurricane Heroes meteorology learning experience
Figure 1. Hurricane Heroes places learners inside a narrative built around real hurricane data and decision making.

Learning Design: Cross-Platform, Role-Based Participation

The experience was designed for asynchronous desktop and Oculus delivery so that hardware access does not determine participation. Learners take on complementary roles—reporting on the approaching hurricane, collecting observations within the storm, and coordinating response on the ground—making the distributed nature of disaster decision-making explicit.

Course Integration: Data, Decisions, and Safety

Implemented in Arizona State University’s Introduction to Meteorology Lab, the experience adapts Hurricane Irma data into interpretable evidence for students with diverse backgrounds. Embedded prompts and assessments connect the narrative to course concepts and ask learners to justify decisions about forecasting, preparedness, and public safety.

Production Team

Hurricane Heroes was led by Rachael Kaye, with student leads Alex Vuong and Alexandra Barret. Evan Koutsogiannis, Derek Sanchez, Christian Boesch, Sharliz Reyes, Krupa Kapadia, Saeed Pulatov, and Mackenzie Leichtman contributed technical art and design. Development was led by Dion Pimentel, Austin Porter, Mehul Srivastava, Abhirup Gunakar, and Ashray Inala, with Robert LiKamWa as faculty advisor.