APPROACH
Leap motion is one of the world’s most precise hand tracking device. Placed on a surface, it allows you to interact with a screen without the help of physical devices like a mouse and keyboard. Coupled with VR headgear, you are able to interact with a virtual environment without the use of controllers.
I decided as my first port of call, to create a list the hand gestures that can be read precisely with Leap Motion and what their affordance would be on-screen. This would allow me to have a clearer understanding of the best Leap Motion could be used to interact with my immersive. My research would also allow future designers to use as a guideline when looking for which gestures are most adapted for on screen actions.
For my project I decided to choose gestures that are familiar to the wider audience but also distinct enough for testing purposes. Therefore I selected the rock – paper – scissor gestures to guide my immersive.
Being a long time fan of VR, I am always amazed at how quickly you can be transported into a point of view that you have never experienced or would never be able to experience in the real world. I want to create an experience that allows the player to forget themselves for short while. The players are able to escape the bustle of their busy lives and feel free and relaxed during their time in the immersive. I wanted to give them the sense that their point of view has changed and that they are able to roam wherever they please and maybe experience a dreamlike sense of weightlessness: like meditation.
I was inspired by zen gardens and oriental culture. Coupled with the rock – paper – scissors and a low-poly style design, I could give the game a paper like feel (think origami).
Therefore i was able to come up with an immersive experience concept. The game would allow the player to become a paper plane weaving through a see of lotuses. The flat palm would allow them to control the plane flying through the air. The rock would be used as a defence, allowing the player to protect themselves from a lotus flower if they were unable to avoid it. Scissors, being more of an attack, would allow the player to cut through the lotus stems.
Wind corridors are spread out across the environment giving the player the opportunity to fly through them and gain speed as they go. I was of course inspire by architectures, the the idea of pagodas and monument valley. This allows allowed an extra bit of challenge to the game if the player chose to.
Before I started creating the assets for the game I sketched up some initial ideas of how I imagined the it would look and and some of the core gameplay ideas.
Being my first attempt at VR I was also keen on trying to sketch a quick environment in a VR space so as to better explain my vision. To do this I tested software like Leap Motion paint, Google blocks and Gravity Sketch. This allowed me to pitch my concept to my team.
No project would be complete without a codename. I decided to go with the Japanese word ‘Ukiyo’. Which doesn’t have a equivalent word in English but would translate as The floating world. The definition is ‘living in the moment detached from the bothers of life’.
I have created a wireframe of the main stages of the immersive as well as explained the core functionalities to the programmer. As this is an open world I was keen on creating a procedurally generated environment which allowed the player total freedom of movement. This allowed for less production time and was easier on the processor.
