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Each prototype is mapped to Cross, Circle, Square, Triangle
Cross (X) : Camera Transference with 2 motion feedback
One of the mechanics that we looked into was to have a teleportation occur between security cameras. The most important part of this mechanic is to get the feedback right.
To play the game you have to aim at the blinking red spheres that represent the camera and then press L1 to move to the ‘camera’ you are looking at. R1 switches between the 2 [feedback + reticle] systems we have developed.
The two systems of feedback + reticle we have are:
- Cut-scene with an image effect as feedback + Common Circular Reticle
- Particle effect in the dark + spotlight aim reticle
We began by first trying to see if a straightforward on rails cut-scene would feel good after darkening the image. We do have an issue here where the world gets slightly distorted due to the image effect, and the turning is still not yet perfect in timing, but it is getting close. In this mechanic we are using a reticle for aiming.
We also looked into a simple fade-to-black have a particle pulse go from the player to the new location and then a fade-back-to-game at the new location. For this mechanic we are using a spotlight system that we found interesting as method of aiming.
This still needs some timing work, but as an early prototype it still kind of stands and while disorienting for a moment the physiological adjustment that happens is very quick.
In order for this to progress any further we definitely need to polish out the feedbacks more as timing is everything for this mechanic to feel good.
Triangle : Scaling as a Motion Mechanic
Pressing R1 in the game while looking at an object (ObjectA), causes the objects in the world to first scale up and then moves the player towards ObjectA as the objects in the world scale back down.
In the game, you open up in a single scene where you can look at the table ahead of you and press R1 to cause the mechanic to trigger.
The scene with blue cubes which can be started by pressing L1; is an offshoot of a level we had been working on for the early form of the mechanic where the entire locomotion was gaze-base. Having shifted it to be caused by pressing R1 completely changed the experience and it caused the level to not function the way we initially intended.
However, we quickly realized that on looking at a blue cube and pressing R1 and then while in transit looking at another cube and pressing R1 created this interesting ‘ice skating’-esque experience. We brought the cubes closer together and started testing out this new play system.
Moving forward we believe that this mechanic can be turned into an interesting ice skating like experience where the player has to collect objects placed at locations that can be reached through irregular motion (switching from one cube to another). We also would like to see how an exploration game would turn out to be using this mechanic.
Circle : 3rd person Camera Diving
This mechanic is a test of mapping 2.5D elements into VR + a system of control where the character moves within the view space of the VR Camera, while the camera seems to be moving in a particular direction.
We created a simple portal dive game system in which the player can move their character using the left joystick to hit stars to get points over a period of time.
Right now there is no other objective than to collect the stars however moving forward we can try to add more elements such as dodging enemies, choosing a big star over a group of smaller stars, etc.
We were using this game to iterate on how close the camera can be to the character, what kind of joystick-based motions feel good in VR, how much a player would be inclined to turn the head around in a game that is clearly happening in front of you and how fast or slow does the game need to be.
Right now the game still lacks some elements
- Motion of the character when moved by joystick needs some kind of feedback like a ray tracer and/or motion blur
- There is no high intensity moments which may come about when some kind of obstacles come about
- There are no meaningful choices
- Probably need a sphere of influence that pulls the stars towards the player’s character
- Needs a proper player character (currently a skull…)
This game would help in the experimentation with camera angles as there is a lot of this game that is known in terms of gameplay.
Square : 3rd person Camera in Sky on Rails
This is another simple camera on rail game, where the camera is following a sphere (representing a hot air balloon) in front of it, with the ability to move the balloon from left to right by tilting the head in that direction.
This was a continuation of our experiments in 3rd person VR locomotion, where the camera followed a character. We wanted to see what kind of mechanics we could create as we expanded on the head tracking, and decided to map the tilt of the head (something we didn’t try previously) to move the player character.
We are negotiating with the fact that with this mechanic the horizon does not stay level which is known to disconcert players, by having the focus and attention of the player to be on the character they are moving to avoid the red cubes.
Currently there is no powerful feedback with regards to hitting the cubes as we first needed to make sure that the motion and the control of the character felt right.
Moving forward we will need to create feedback for collision with the red cubes, find a better method to work with a shifting skyline and certain level of expression when it comes to the hot air balloon swaying from side-to-side dodging obstacles.
While this game and the previous prototype feel similar, the major difference is the notion of space. The dive system is far more contained and claustrophobic while this open air system is more exploratory and open and we will probably need to find more of what differentiates the two by exploring the space that the two games play in. We also realized that due to the gyroscope being what it is the phone needs to be in a particular position. The Sony logo on the phone must be on the left hand side for the mechanic to work as expected.