chihic@andrew.cmu.edu

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Hi! My name is…

This is a virtual reality world build for Building Virtual Worlds Round 2 at CMU Entertainment Technology Center. In this game, players will explore rooms with different styles, each showcasing the interests of our team members. They must find the "heads" of our team members and, in the final matching stage, pair the heads with the correct room decorations, poses, and actions.

Project Type

Team Project of 5

Platform

Meta Quest 3

Engine

Unity

Role(s)

Programmer / UX Designer

Video Demo

Design Objectives

Our team was tasked with creating a VR experience for the Quest 3 that lets guests have high agency without receiving any instructions. The focus was on:

  • Agency Without Instruction: Ensuring guests can influence the experience freely while still enjoying it without direct guidance.

  • Engagement: Creating an enjoyable, brief experience, even if it doesn't remain engaging after multiple playthroughs.

Challenges

  • Unpredictable Guest Behavior: Guests often acted unexpectedly, so we relied on indirect control to guide them.

  • Tutorial Clarity: Without instructions, guests struggled with their objectives. We added a simple tutorial to clarify the goals.

  • Space Design: Scattering all "heads" in one space was confusing, so we isolated them in themed rooms to improve focus.

  • Team Alignment: Disagreements over project direction were resolved with a paper prototype, allowing us to proceed with implementation.

  • Theme Change: We had to quickly change the theme due to overlap with another team's idea. Despite the tight timeline, the new concept worked well.

My Contributions

  • Gameplay Design:
    - Created the flying head effect using the particle system.
    - Integrated audio and animation to enhance gameplay immersion.
    - Ensured the head always faces the player during interactions.
    - Designed and implemented interactions between the book and the book slot.

  • Userflow Design:
    - Contributed to designing the overall user flow for a smooth, intuitive experience.

Flying Head & Scene Transition

Interactive Paintings

Book & Slot Interaction

Final Matching Stage

What I've learned:

  • Space Usage in VR: Interactables should be close to the player to avoid disrupting the experience.

  • Diverse Playtesting: Testing with different guests provides more valuable insights than relying solely on familiar testers.

  • Indirect Guidance: Playtesting helped us refine how to guide players using design elements like goals and interfaces.

  • CROW Framework: CROW (Character, Relationship, Objective, Where/When) helped create engaging, understandable characters.

  • Testing in VR: Testing in the headset is essential, as builds behave differently outside of Unity.

Gallery

Built in Framer

Created by Chih I Chou @2024