ACHIEVEMENT LOG
14th February - 20th February 2022
WHAT DID I DO THIS WEEK?
Box enquiries - contacted Chris O Connor and Andy Brook
Gathered survey results around the theme/content
Theme Research
Discussed new potential input method with James
Researched into use of webcams/image processing
Created some environment mockups/concepts
Kiera continued with the raycasting prototype in VR
BOX ENQUIRIES
The first thing we did this week was contact Chris O Connor and Andy Brook regarding the box build. We spoke to them about what we wanted, with our box specifications attached, and spoke about how we would go about getting this built. They had more questions regarding the game itself, and which software/hardware we were using specifically, to make all elements tie in together. At this stage, we were unaware, so informed them that we will get back to them with more information once we had it. But we know that the structure of the box is possible, and we will be in contact with them soon.
SURVEYS & THEME RESEARCH
This week we were scheduled to begin thinking about the theme of the space! Using previous research from last Semester, I conducted a survey with environment options, art style and content for the space, keeping in mind that most people preferred the idea of a natural environment to escape to during times like this. After a few days, I gathered results from the survey and established that a mountain environment in either a vector or hand-drawn art style was most preferred. This then led to my research into the 'mountain' theme, where I documented mood-boards for different assets in this space and a particular location. After discussing with Kiera, we decided to create a composite of locations to inspire the outcome of the environment, specifically looking at Hallstatt, Austria. I also looked into the kind of bird species in a snowy environment, village architecture, and other playful small details. With a clearer idea regarding the theme of the space now, I drew up some environment concepts and shared these with Kiera, to get our brains working! We both agreed we loved the look of them, and like the idea of a still landscape image wrapped around players, with small intricate animations throughout.
WHAT DIDN'T GO WELL? / TEAM DECISIONS
NEW INPUT METHOD - IMAGE PROCESSING
We caught up with James this week to discuss our new idea and how we wanted it to work, and he informed us that it would be very difficult! He said that a 2D environment projection on wrap around walls would be very hard to implement, especially if each wall was interactive, so we had to rethink this idea. He suggested working with a global camera in a 3D world using 2D assets, which is simpler than it sounds but still not ideal. He then questioned our use of 'Touch Controllers' and suggested gesture instead.
He informed us of a process called 'Image Processing' which essentially uses the webcam in your device to detect a body-part/movement and translate this to movement on screen. He suggested using this instead, to guide the bird throughout the environment. We much preferred this idea, considering we want to encourage our users to practice slow motions, and a 'Touch Controller' doesn't offer much more except haptics, which aren't particularly useful. After reaching this conclusion, I did some more research into this process, and we are now waiting for a small demo back from James to explain this further.
With this new idea underway, we also got back into contact with Andy and Chris, informing them that we are now working on a new interaction, and may need to rethink the box structure, as James told us we could project onto walls, but would require different setups. The easiest option from here was to take this one step at a time instead.
STEPS FOR NEXT WEEK
With our new changes and ideas, we have scheduled next week to focus more on the experience/gameplay design, by creating a visual demonstration of how we want the individual screens in our space to work, including a sample of music, and how this will work in the digital environment. We have also organised discussions with both Adam and Sid to check progress and discuss any new changes/problems we are having. This'll be a good opportunity to talk through problems we've faced and our new interaction idea.
HOW DO I FEEL?
I feel we have a lot to do! With our new interaction method in place, this is something that requires a lot of work and perseverance, as it's something I have never worked with before! This is completely new to us, but I believe we can do it if we do it right. Hopefully, we can have the space structure planned once we know how things are going to work.