Virtual Reality & Switch Game Demos
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- Immersion Corp
- 2017
- Unite 2017 Talk
"Gauntlet" Demo (Oculus / Vive, UE 4)
To show the potential of the haptic design tool, we wanted to create an immersive demo that a user can experience for a few short minutes (focusing on business meetings and tradeshow booths) that leave a lasting impression of the haptics. For this, we worked with a contractor to develop a simple shooting gallery. The player can access two weapons: a simple pistol and a powerful gauntlet that can equip directly to the hands and fire energy beams. The showcase of the tool was on the gauntlet equipping sequences, where the tool enabled the most complex haptic sequence ever felt on the Oculus Touch controllers (at the time of this demo). I worked with contractor, providing interaction specifications and developing a direction for the feature set of the demo. The gauntlet was a feature I pushed to add late in the process, but has proven to be the highlight of the demo.
UPDATE: With the success of the VR demo, we decided to expand based on feedback. There is now an additional gauntlet and gun, enabling the user to use both hands with any of the weapons. In additional to the ambidextrous additions, a countdown timer can be trigger to end the demo in 10 seconds. This was found to be necessary because players would continue to play the demo, as the win condition can be long to achieve, more often than trying it briefly before a meeting. Interaction refinements around holding the weapons were also refined to turn holding the gun into a toggle (so that both equip/unequip and hold/drop interactions are identical). Due to the successful reactions that the gauntlet has achieved, future plans for adding different weapons and play areas in the map have been placed on hold.
The original demo was shown at GDC2017, and has been updated for sales team use. Note this video has no sound.
The pistol could be fired with either hand. Haptics were different for firing a shot, firing when the clip is empty, and a complex haptic sequence when reloading the weapon.
"Space" Demo (Nintendo Switch, Unity)
The purpose of this game was to demonstrate the capabilities of the Unity haptic design tool. In my role, I worked with a UX engineer to design, validate, and build the game. The notable moments in the demo include a barrel roll animation, shooting lasers and missiles, turbo boost, checkpoints, and collisions. This demo was the foundation of Immersion's booth and presence at Unite 2017 in Austin and was featured in a talk I gave about designing haptic experiences for games (Game Design with Haptics).
Some of the items I was specifically responsible for include: choosing assets from the Unity store, the barrel roll animations, implementing the firing system, audio design, and haptic design.
