Once Upon A Chest
DOC 0513_25
Hardware(Arduino, Raspberry Pi) • Web(HTML/CSS/JS) • AI(ChatGPT API, ElevenLabs API) • 3D(Blender) • Design(Figma, Illustrator)
TECH
May 2025
DATE
[May 2025] Parsons DT Thesis Show Mosaic
SHOW
[Jun 2025] ITP Summer Camp All Things Show
SHOW
[Aug 2025] YOU ARE CODE Exhibition
SHOW
︎︎︎ Once Upon A Tale Actor Meeting Room (May take some time to load.)
LINK
︎︎︎ YOU ARE CODE Website
PUBLICATION
PUBLICATION
︎︎︎ Google Doc
FABRICATION DOCUMENTATION
Once Upon A Chest is an interactive storytelling experience that combines physical computing with AI-driven voice cloning, creating an intimate, personalized storytelling experience.
Designed for a single participant—while inviting others to observe—the experience begins when they first interact with a treasure chest. This chest connects two stories, “The Golden Key” and “The Puppet-Show Man,” in a symbolic way.
THE GOLDEN KEY
The Golden Key, being the final tale in Grimm’s Fairy Tales, is also one of the shortest. It ends on an open note, inviting the reader to imagine what “the wonderful things” inside the chest might be. I found that gesture deeply inspiring.︎︎︎[read the original story]
With Twice Upon A Time, I want to extend that invitation to my audience—to show them what I imagine is inside the chest: a reimagined version of The Puppet-Show Man, rewritten to reflect my own life story.
THE PUPPET-SHOW MAN
In its original form, The Puppet-Show Man tells the story of a cheerful puppet-show owner who comes to appreciate his simple, happy life after a magical experience shows him the troubles of managing puppets that have turned into real actors. ︎︎︎[read the original story]
I adapted the story to end on a more hopeful, affirming note. In my version, after speaking with each of the puppets, the puppeteer feels reassured and satisfied—grateful for every stage of life they’ve experienced.
Two stories, one chest, and a journey through past and self. Once Upon a Chest awaits.
CONCEPT
Once Upon a Chest is an interactive AI-driven storytelling installation I designed and built for my senior thesis. The installation invites visitors to unlock a mysterious chest and step into an evolving fairy-tale world, transforming two classic children’s tales — The Golden Key and The Puppet Show Man — into an interactive experience where AI-powered characters respond to the audience and influence how the story unfolds.
MY VISION
From the start, I had a clear vision: I wanted to create an immersive narrative experience that seamlessly blends digital and physical storytelling. My goals were to build an AI-powered system where the story responds dynamically to the audience, integrate voice cloning through ElevenLabs to make the experience feel deeply personal, and design a physical stage setup with Arduino-powered moving parts. I commissioned custom character designs, but I laser-cut, 3D-printed, and hand-built the chest and stage environment myself to bring the world to life.
The project uses OpenAI to generate real-time responses to audience input and ElevenLabs for voice cloning, creating an experience where visitors can truly engage with the story.
EXHIBITION
Once Upon a Chest has been exhibited three times so far:
- Parsons DT Thesis Show Mosaic (May 2025) → Over 30 visitors experienced the piece in one night and gave highly positive feedback.
- ITP Summer Camp All Things Show (June 2025) → Introduced motorized character movements, allowing each puppet to respond individually to the narrative, and 20+ people interacted with the updated system.
- YOU ARE CODE Exhibition (Aug 2025) → Added an AI-powered chatbot accessible via QR code, letting visitors chat directly with the story’s characters, which generated strong engagement.
Across all exhibitions, 100+ people have experienced the installation so far. Their feedback has guided key improvements. Insights from the thesis show inspired me to add more motorized animations, and feedback from the ITP showcase pushed me to transition from Arduino to Raspberry Pi for better performance and scalability.
END NOTES
Designing this project was challenging, but it taught me how to merge AI, physical computing, and storytelling into one cohesive experience. It continues to evolve as I refine both the technology and the narrative.
This project is also deeply personal: the story explores questions about different stages of life that I have been reflecting on, and it represents my passion for telling stories through technology.
SELECTED PICTURE OF THE FABRICATION
Below are selected photos and process steps from the project’s fabrication. For full details, see ︎︎︎ the Fabrication Documentation Google Doc.
CHEST
Final Technical Drawing Plan and Laser Cut File Overview
Final Chest Image
PUPPET & STAGE
Amazing commissioned art from Emily Cole.
Final stage image
Some Arduino mechanical plans and variations
CREDITS
- Emily Cole – All character and stage design
- Seawon Kim – Initial stage design
- Jesse Harding – Physical computing support, general critique, and feedback
- Jeongki Lim – Ideation critique
- Justin Bakse – Code review and ideation feedback
- Brad MacDonald – Ideation feedback
SPECIAL THANKS
(mainly for mental support and process feedback)- Lynn Feng – Concept refinement feedback
- Justin Chang – Initial ideation feedback
- Colleen Macklin – Initial ideation feedback
- Ben Kudler – Initial code support
- ChatGPT & Claude – Helped me code a little better when I was stuck
- My roommates (Seawon Kim, Angelia Jung, Bini Park) – Mental support, stage feedback, and for letting me make a mess in the living room while working on my thesis.
- Friends (Tanvi Mishra, Paridhi Garg, Robin Altman, Julia Daser, Zenon Ortiz, Sakshi Pandey, Kshitij Palresha, Emily Cole, and more!) – Mental support, feedback, and encouragement (this is a very important part—thank you all so much!)
- D12, BFA DT 2025 – User testings
- ITP Summer Camp 2025 - Feedbacks and supports
- Cara Kwon - For featuring this project in the YOU ARE CODE exhibition!