{"id":793,"date":"2026-01-10T18:28:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T17:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/?page_id=793"},"modified":"2026-04-11T14:51:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:51:56","slug":"reeya","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/fantasy-creatures\/reeya\/","title":{"rendered":"Reeya"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:32% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"219\" height=\"219\" src=\"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Reeya_category-edited.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-260 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Reeya_category-edited.png 219w, https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Reeya_category-edited-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 219px) 100vw, 219px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Originally, this pony-dog-mouse was a placeholder when I tried my hand at programming a virtual pet in in ninth grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She&#8217;s the main reason why I wanted to study computer science, and a plush version of her has been accompanying me at my day job since 2016.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Delphi Version<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-container is-disabled embed-youtube\" data-embed-id=\"oembed_d0b5a59304b3ea273e726c445bd8cad3\" data-embed-provider=\"youtube\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 500\/281;\">\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"embed-privacy-enable screen-reader-text\">Display &quot;Reeya 1.x&quot; from YouTube<\/button>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-overlay\">\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-inner\">\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-logo\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/embed-privacy\/assets\/images\/embed-youtube.png?ver=1.12.3);\"><\/div>\t\t<p>\t\tHier klicken, um den Inhalt von YouTube anzuzeigen.\t\t\t\t\t<br>\t\t\t\t\tLearn more in <a href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy?hl=de\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube\u2019s privacy policy<\/a>.\t\t<\/p>\t\t<p class=\"embed-privacy-input-wrapper\">\t\t\t<input id=\"embed-privacy-store-youtube-d0b5a59304b3ea273e726c445bd8cad3\" type=\"checkbox\" value=\"1\" class=\"embed-privacy-input\" data-embed-provider=\"youtube\">\t\t\t<label for=\"embed-privacy-store-youtube-d0b5a59304b3ea273e726c445bd8cad3\" class=\"embed-privacy-label\" data-embed-provider=\"youtube\">\t\t\t\tAlways display content from YouTube\t\t\t<\/label>\t\t<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-footer\"><span class=\"embed-privacy-url\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JWMkN80lJtA\">Open &quot;Reeya 1.x&quot; directly<\/a><\/span><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-content\">\t\t\t\t<script>var _oembed_d0b5a59304b3ea273e726c445bd8cad3 = '{\\\"embed\\\":\\\"&lt;iframe title=&quot;Reeya 1.x&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;281&quot; src=&quot;https:\\\\\/\\\\\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\\\\\/embed\\\\\/JWMkN80lJtA?feature=oembed&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share&quot; referrerpolicy=&quot;strict-origin-when-cross-origin&quot; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;\\\\\/iframe&gt;\\\"}';<\/script>\t\t\t<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\t\t\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-tertiary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8625a745d3c051e49b1e3e891aa60b05\">Back in the ninetees, virtual creatures were all the rage: Countless children were taking care of tamagotchis, computer magazines presented applications like <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fin_Fin_on_Teo_the_Magic_Planet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fin Fin<\/a>, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MOPy_fish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MOPy fish<\/a> was swimming across our screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around the turn of the millennium, I took my first steps in coding with PASCAL and Delphy, and after roughly two school years I knew enough to craft my own virtual pet in my spare time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the beginning, Reeya was just a placeholder &#8211; a quichly doodled mix of dog and pony for testing my ideas. I had been planning to replace her with cool 3D-rendered sprites of a different animal later &#8211; for example, a spider. But the more I kept looking at this doodle, the more it stole my heart. And so I kept adding new animations with this exact creature until I graduated.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Plushie<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-image-fill-element\" style=\"grid-template-columns:40% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Reeya-on-Android-phone_medRes.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-271 size-full\" style=\"object-position:29% 60%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Reeya-on-Android-phone_medRes.png 1000w, https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Reeya-on-Android-phone_medRes-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Reeya-on-Android-phone_medRes-768x512.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>The university started, and my time and motivation for private coding projects dwindled. I made plans to port Reeya to a different programming language, but never got around to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the project went on hiatus while I was steadily heading towards a burnout. 2016 it reached tha point that I needed professional help with handling the daily grind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the strategies I learned was the use of sensory input to escape spiraling thoughts and find my way back to the here and now. I decided that I would take a small plush to my office.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And who would be better suited for this job than Reeya? After all, she was one of the main reasons why had wanted to study this subject in the first place. Also, I had enjoyed making plushies in the past. So I picked up needle, thread, and gray velvet and went for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Soon after, a tiny, cuddly Reeya followed me around at work to remind me why I had chosen this profession to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Unity Version<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-image-fill-element\" style=\"grid-template-columns:40% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Reeya2-x.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-272 size-full\" style=\"object-position:50% 50%\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Some years ago I started recreating her in the Unity game engine. In this version, she&#8217;s frolicking through a forest landscape in 3D &#8211; while still being a gray and red stick figure.<br><br>The program is still in the early stages, and I&#8217;m still experimenting to pick a suitable approach for modeling her mind.<br><br>It&#8217;s likely that I will focus on virtual reality in the long run. It&#8217;s fascinating to stand right next to her and walk through that world together!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>This video shows one of the first attempts at transferring the screen controls to virtual reality. As you can see, not everything went according to plan&#8230; but Reeya already rejoiced at the sight of all those flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-container is-disabled embed-youtube\" data-embed-id=\"oembed_4d12ffda581888add6d9caf10ea930ff\" data-embed-provider=\"youtube\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 500\/375;\">\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"embed-privacy-enable screen-reader-text\">Display &quot;ReeyaVR &#8211; Floating Flower Flood&quot; from YouTube<\/button>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-overlay\">\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-inner\">\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-logo\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/embed-privacy\/assets\/images\/embed-youtube.png?ver=1.12.3);\"><\/div>\t\t<p>\t\tHier klicken, um den Inhalt von YouTube anzuzeigen.\t\t\t\t\t<br>\t\t\t\t\tLearn more in <a href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy?hl=de\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube\u2019s privacy policy<\/a>.\t\t<\/p>\t\t<p class=\"embed-privacy-input-wrapper\">\t\t\t<input id=\"embed-privacy-store-youtube-4d12ffda581888add6d9caf10ea930ff\" type=\"checkbox\" value=\"1\" class=\"embed-privacy-input\" data-embed-provider=\"youtube\">\t\t\t<label for=\"embed-privacy-store-youtube-4d12ffda581888add6d9caf10ea930ff\" class=\"embed-privacy-label\" data-embed-provider=\"youtube\">\t\t\t\tAlways display content from YouTube\t\t\t<\/label>\t\t<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-footer\"><span class=\"embed-privacy-url\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VhoE58CXmCU\">Open &quot;ReeyaVR &#8211; Floating Flower Flood&quot; directly<\/a><\/span><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"embed-privacy-content\">\t\t\t\t<script>var _oembed_4d12ffda581888add6d9caf10ea930ff = '{\\\"embed\\\":\\\"&lt;iframe title=&quot;ReeyaVR - Floating Flower Flood&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; src=&quot;https:\\\\\/\\\\\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\\\\\/embed\\\\\/VhoE58CXmCU?feature=oembed&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share&quot; referrerpolicy=&quot;strict-origin-when-cross-origin&quot; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;\\\\\/iframe&gt;\\\"}';<\/script>\t\t\t<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\t\t\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Originally, this pony-dog-mouse was a placeholder when I tried my hand at programming a virtual pet in in ninth grade. She&#8217;s the main reason why I wanted to study computer science, and a plush version of her has been accompanying me at my day job since 2016. The Delphi Version Back in the ninetees, virtual [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":759,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-793","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":796,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/793\/revisions\/796"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaleidechse.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}