The first week is all about planning and coming up with ideas, and that's what our team did. We used Miro to brainstorm various ideas, but one of the ideas that stuck out to us all was the medieval/sorcery theme. My role within the group is Game Designer/Programmer, and Holly will be working alongside me to implement the mechanics and flow into our VR game.
Medival/Sourcery Idea
We wanted to get our idea onto paper to understand the concept better, and Miro allowed us to do this with simple sticky notes. We looked at games like Skrim VR, Blades and Sourcery and Gorn. What we liked most about these games where the weapon and magic combination the player had access to for a diverse combat system. The idea I'm thinking about using to help ingrate the weapon and magic mechanic is a data table. It will make storing variables more accessible as the project is passed about through the group.
Core Gameplay Loop
Every game has a core loop, so we needed to understand what the core of our game would be, and that's when we decided upon;
Fight Enemies - having a variety of enemies that the player can eliminate, putting their combat skills to the test.
Solve Puzzles - Putting not just the player's combat skills to the test but also their intelligence to the test trying to solve puzzles to unlock the next magical spell.
Gain Powers - Players will slowly increase their strength as they progress, learning new magical spells and puzzles that have been solved, gaining them an advantage in combat scenarios.
Game Design Pillars
Design pillars are the foundation of any memorable game. It is what makes the game unique and introduces those extraordinary mechanics that the players always remember. Our four design Pillars focus around;
Diverse Combat System - will be seen at how the player uses a combination of a melee weapon in one hand for short-range use and magical powers in the other hand for long-range use. The player will also use a super magical ability that will require both hands to fire a magic spell.
Interactive Environment - with any VR game, it is always enjoyable to walk over and pick up objects that you usually wouldn't be able to in console or PC games. The interactive environment allows the player to pick up nearly any object with one hand along with heavier things like rocks with two, allowing the player to think outside of what's provided to them while being able to laugh.
Destructible System - it is common for some players to want to break things, especially in VR, as it allows them to do stuff they might not be able to in the real world, and this is why our system will introduce breakable walls, shields, weapons (Enemies only), boxes...
Stylised Low Poly Artstyle - having AAA assets in a VR game can result in glitches and lag for the player giving a poor user experience, and that's why we decided upon a low poly style as it will optimise the system allowing for long draw times insuring a fun and immersive experience for the player.
Character Movement
In VR, you have various movement types, and with the help of Luke Shingleton (UI/UX Designer), we were able to talk about some ideas for our game. We looked at Teleporting and Free Locomotion or even the option for both.
Teleporting:
Pro - Better for users who experience motion sickness.
- Older headsets will lower refresh rates will have easier times moving about.
Con - seen as a clunky and outdated way to travel.
- Newer model headsets don't always utilize joysticks.
Free Locomotion:
Pro - Gives the player more control over their environment.
- Creates a more lasting immersion for the player.
Con - Easier for players to get motion sick.
Motion Sickness Research
If you have ever played a VR game before, you might be the victim of Motion sickness or even Simulation sickness.
Definitions:
Motion Sickness - occurs when a person feels movement but doesn't necessarily see it.
Simulation Sickness - occurs without any actual movement of the subject.
After doing some research, adding things like a virtual nose creates a buffer zone, creating a dynamic field of view for when the player moves or rotates, adding teleporting for long-distance, and have a snapping rotation can help decrease the feeling of motion and simulation sickness but doesn't remove it which is vital to remember.
Getting Ready For Week Two
Research into documentation and blogs about VR development from people with years of knowledge will be fundamental throughout our development phase, as none of us has worked with VR before. Therefore, for scripting, I will be focusing on Developer Perspective: Designing Awesome Locomotion In VR by Sam Pattuzzi, which focuses on the most successful mechanisms used for locomotion in VR, like playspace movement, Teleporting, jogging on the spot, blinkers and climbing.
Creating & Implementing custom hand animations for VR in ue4 by Jonathan Bardwell will help outline grabbing mechanics and figure animations which will be extremely helpful for spell casting and object interaction.
How to create a Smooth locomotion system for your VR project using UE4 by Jonathan Bardwell will help integrate a smooth locomotion system that will involve joystick controls, snap rotation, capsule movement with VR to help walk under objects, and room scaling by playing the camera on the floor so when the user puts the headset on their real-life height can be integrated into the game.
Next week I will be implementing the smooth location system so then I can hand out the project to the group, and the mechanics, UI/UX and level designing can begin.
See you then.
Josh Davidson
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