This is the slide deck used for episode 3 of Just A/VR Show. In this slide deck, I cover the basics of VR development, including ways to build immersive environments, capture a user's attention, and avoid simulation sickness-inducing behaviors.
Just A/VR Show Episode:
https://channel9.msdn.com/blogs/misslivirose/Designing-for-VR-Environments-and-Interactions
2. Virtual & Augmented Reality
Virtual Reality: Replacing a user’s physical
world with a computer-generated one
Example: Oculus Rift
Augmented / Mixed Reality: Enhancing the
physical world with digital objects
Example: Microsoft HoloLens
6. Immersion & Exploration
User is immediately a part of the environment you’ve built
Small details matter
360 degree content is expected
Users will want to try their own ideas
Great VR experiences react the way a user expects, even if it isn’t part of the
designed flow
Even small places can be open for exploration
Scale makes a huge impact on presence
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9. Attention
Users have freedom to look anywhere, so capturing and guiding attention is
important
Audio and visual cues can help nudge users in the right way
Forced Attention = BAD EXPERIENCE
14. Physical Comfort
Responsible for orienting ourselves in the world… and motion sickness
Motion sickness occurs when sensory system inputs are not consistent
Probably the number one concern in VR experiences
The Proprioceptive System
15. User Adaptation
Physical differences apply strongly to how someone experiences something in VR
Height
IPD
Gender
Respect player settings for things like camera placement
Design environments for a variety of users
17. Depth
Eye focus changes rapidly with distance of objects
Avoid forcing focus changes too frequently between items at different visual
depths
Don’t build objects in too closely to the camera placements
18. HUDS
“Heads Up Displays”
Frequently used in video games
UI elements anchored to the player’s head / camera
Not impossible, but problematic in VR
Difficult to keep at a comfortable distance
Lots of head movement = lots of floating objects
No clear parallel to a physical-world experience for most
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21. Anchor Objects
Specific point of reference that the user can orient to
Stays static in the scene
Helps prevent motion sickness
Example: Cockpits
Example: Virtual nose
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23. Colors
Shadows and lighting may change the way color appears on dynamic objects and
make things harder to read
Higher contrast helps make objects stand out from one another, but viewing angle
may change dramatically depending on the user’s position
Green is the easiest color to read
24. Text
Avoid large amounts of text to instruct or inform users of information within a
virtual environment
Consider how you will draw attention to text within your environment to capture
the user’s attention
25. Screens
Curved screens work better than a
single panel
Translucency or transparency can
help keep your environment
cohesive
Use sparingly – avoid
overwhelming the user with too
many menus
27. Forced Behaviors
Moving a player involuntarily:
Breaks presence
Loses autonomy
Causes motion sickness
Stay as close to 1:1 as possible
Don’t force it!
28. Virtual Bodies
No body > wrong body
If users can see it, they expect to act the way their physical self would
Our brain is surprisingly good at filling in the empty spaces
Example
Problem: Hands can be tracked easily, but forearms are harder
Solution: Draw virtual hands, but leave forearms excluded