This post is an update on the Virtual Reality project for TLT’s Faculty Fellow Ty Hollett. See my First Virtual Steps in Reality post for more information.
There are three planned experiences for Ty Hollett’s virtual reality project. Each experience will feature a different food item. I mentioned in the previous post that this is really our first effort in creating a fully realized virtual reality application. So, not only are we trying to present content with a desired message but we are also trying to research what makes a quality VR experience and how successful can it be in delivering a message. As part of that research, we have decided to take three very different approaches to each of the experiences in this project.
The Content and The Message
The food item featured in the first experience of this project is the banana. The message we want to deliver is that bananas travel great distances between tree and store and that a great deal of effort goes into getting them there. This story, makes the banana not an inexpensive, seemingly mundane piece of fruit, but actually a rather extravagant item.
The Approach
Since the message behind the content of the banana experience is one of extravagance it seemed only fitting to make the VR experience equally extravagant. And by extravagant I mean, the most highly produced portion of this project. I mentioned before that each portion of the project will use a different approach to VR. By making this portion a highly produced experience, and then comparing it to low production experience, we will be researching how the two methods impact success of content and message delivery.
In a previous post I talked about the interactions that we chose to include in the banana experience. At the time of that post, the whole banana module was what I would consider a low production experience. No fancy graphics, lighting or animation, just simple objects with VR interactivity attached to them. I have spent the last few months elevating the module to more of a highly produced experience.
The first room in the banana experience, where the user’s task is to climb and pick bananas from a tree and place them in a crate, is now wrapped in a sunny sky texture with lighting to match. The crate is wrapped in a wood texture and is stencil labeled. It is also equipped with a revolving yellow light on the lid that, after it has been fully loaded with bananas, begins to flash. There is also a secret wall, in the front of the room, that opens to reveal the center chamber which contains the globe.
In the second room, the user’s task is to row oars to represent how the crate of bananas must travel across the sea. As the user enters the room they will see walls that are wrapped in a starry moonlit sky. This change in time of day, which will be different in each room of this experience, is used to indicate to the user the passage of time.
The user must cross a wooden deck that is elevated above a shimmering plane of water to get to a small row boat located in the center of the room. Once boarding the boat the user will begin to feel the rock of the waves in the water. The handles of the oars are located low in vertical space to encourage the user to sit on the floor in a normal rowing position. Sitting on the floor actually enhances the feeling of the waves rocking the boat. As the user rows the boat, the crate of bananas, which is now floating in the water, will move from right to left in the room.
While seated in the boat the user will notice a small row of lights in front of each oar handle. These are there to aide the user with the range of motion required to move the oars and to help them understand the effort required to register a stroke. The crate floating in the water, ahead of the user, gently bobs up and down. This will add to the understanding of the trials and tribulations a banana goes through during the at sea phase of it’s travels. When the crate reaches the left side of the room, an exit dock raises up out of the water and the user can use it to exit the room through the boat house.
As the user enters the next room they will again see a change in the time of day. The flight room is wrapped in a beautiful sunrise sky. The floor resembles a taxiway that leads the user to center of the room where a pair of wings is suspended above runway 17. (The runway number simply represents the year this application was created)
As the user grabs ahold of the wings, and begins to flap up and down, they can look down to the runway has opened up to reveal a rolling landscape that moves below them like a conveyor belt. With every flap, the user will also be able to watch the crate of bananas move from right to left across the room on a turbulent track. This section of track represents the ups and down of air travel. Once the crate has reached the far left hand side of the room, the runway will close and the user will be returned safely to the ground.
Just through the doorway to the next room the user will see a handcar sitting on a set of tracks. Climbing aboard the handcar the user will see the banana crate track has joined the tracks of the handcar. As the user pumps the handle up and down of the handcar they will transport both themselves and the crate across an orangey sunset environment. Upon reaching the far left hand side of the room the doors to final room will open.
Entering the final room the player is presented with a ‘Price is Right’ style game. In the front of the room is a board with empty slots where the red blocks stacked on the far left appear to fit. The goal here is for the user to estimate how many miles the banana has traveled. One by one the player will pick up the blocks and place them in the empty slots.
When all slots are filled, the lighting in the room changes. If the user thinks they have the right answer they can move to the center of the room and pull on the lever with a glowing globe at the top. After pulling the lever, correctly placed blocks will glow while incorrectly placed blocks will remain dark.
Once all blocks are placed in the correct slots, the lighting in the room will again change and the globe at the top of the lever will open reveal a single banana the player has earned for completing this epic journey.
There are still a few things to do including adding sound FX, creating some directional signage, and completing the globe in center chamber, but for the most part the banana portion of this VR project is complete. I will be working on the next two experiences in the coming weeks.
wrs15 says
Cool stuff; the textures make a world of difference. Question: I’m curious as to development time, i.e. how long did it take to create VRBasics vs the first phase of the banana experience vs the textured Extravagance version?
Thanks,
Wade