To start with i installed the XR interaction tool package that i had previouisly used into this experience and then scaled and resized it to suit the environment around the player. As a form of navigation the player can also move around using the left hand joystick on the left hand controller and also look around or rotate the camera using the right hand joystick on the right hand controller.
Door Animations
One of the biggest parts of this experience/narrative is the player progressing the the next area of task in the train carriage and so it would be suitable for the doors to open when the player at least approaches them during this environment build stage but due to time and testing constraints i was not able to fully add this in and at the moment the animations are in place within the file but there isnt a trigger for them at this time.
Problems with Interacitivity
After trying to add some general interactivity like being able to grab objects around the train carriage i found some issues with either the colliders or the reaction with movement. When i try to grab one of the objects that also have gravity it can result in this glitch when sends the player far away almost breaking the experience so this is something to keep in mind if this experience was to be developed further.
Gameplay Capture of the Build
Storyboard Capture
The video below shows the final storyboard capture for the Mind the Gap experience which has been refined based on feedback and any updates or changes to the script since its last iteration.
Storyboard Commentary
The video below shows the storyboard with my own commentary explaining the full experience as it is passed through.
After finding a train carriage model that worked very well for the design of my experience i knew that i needed a drivers carriage section and I was not able to find a suitable model so i decided to create an area myself using Unity 3D modelling.
After creating a drivers carriage model that will sit at the front of the train I found a 3D model of a chair and used one of the animated Adobe Mixamo models to be the Antagonist or entity of the whole experience that will sit at the front of the train. In the full experience they would turn around and full talk and interact with the player for a short time before dissapearing and leaving the player on their own before the train crashes.
Train Tracks/Tunnel
After adding the drivers carriage I started to think about the player looking out the window or out of the front of the train during the short time that they see and iteract with the antagonist of the experience. I decided that it would make sense to add some headlights to the front of the train to highlight a bit further ahead of the tunnel in case the player was to looking out to see whats in front of them during the experience.
One the headlights were added to the train, I then decided to add some train tracks that woudl appear under the train. The environment tunnel is very dark and the player wont be able to see the start and end of the tunnel so the tracks dont necessarily need an animation for movement and can appear just under the train, the lights will have the movement effect of the tunnel.
Game Design Document Updates
I have also spent some time working on the Game design document for the Mind the Gap experience by updating the template which was given to use going through the story, gameplay, assets, ethical challanges etc. as shown in the document below:
Overall i think i have the environment in mostly a good place where all assets and areas from my script and storyboard have now been created. The next step would be to try and add some minor interactivity and also now making the experience playable in Virtual reality by being able to look in this environment using a VR headset.
Over this passed week I have spent some more time working on the unity environment for my VR experience by looking into models and assets that are necessary in my script.
Adding Level Assets and 3D models
I have previously added some models for the third puzzle which are some suitcase/luggage models but for the start of the experience there needs to be four objects that the player can choose from. These objects are a Book, Gun, Watch and a Wallet and using Turbosquid i was able to find models for most of these items except for the Wallet which I have simply put a square object in place for now if I am not able to find a wallet model. All of the models are currently coloured in Green to make them stand out for this environment build of the environment.
Adding NPC Characters
When the player first starts the experience in my script they will see multiple NPC characters sat around them in the drivers carriage that they cannot interact with and are only there for a short time before the lights cut out and they are sent into the full experience.
I started by looking on turbosquid for male and female character models but then we also have access to Adobe Mixamo which has multiple character animations and base models which will work perfectly for this environment. So i started to download a few character models which had different animations for sitting such as idling, moving arms or sitting with their legs crossed etc. which I then placed around the train carriage duplicate i made for the starting and end area of the experience.
Next Steps
The next step for this environment build will be to create a drivers carriage area because I was not able to find a model that suited what i needed based on my script/storyboard and so this will need to be created in Unity or modelled in a 3D modelling software.
Over the passed couple of weeks i have spent some more time working on my storyboard in tiltbrush while also learning some mroe about the software. I have gone through and tried to make sure everything matches and is in line with my script/story and making sure it is presented properly within the software.
I also spent some time learning how to use the camera paths within tiltrbush which allow you to smoothly record anything that you want within the software which is shown in the video below:
During the week I have been working on making some amendments or updates to my scripts and Game Design document for ‘Mind the Gap’ while also working more on my storyboard in Tiltbrush.
Mind the Gap Unity Developments
I have spent some more time working on the environment project build for Mind the Gap by continuing to use the train model I had previously found on Turbosquid. The train has now been set up so that there are two carriages together with multiple spotlights up and down the carriage to create the underground effect.
The whole environment is contained inside solid black walls to simulate the train being in the underground hopefully leaving the outside in the dark during the whole experience. Two lights have also been set up outside of the train which are animated on a loop to continously pass the trian on either side to give the impression of passing lights in the tunnel.
Some of the assets and objects are now also set up in the train carriage such as multiple luggage items being set up in the carriage which are grabbable by the player to show the ‘Test of Strength’. As you can see from the image below using Unity models i have also tried to create some hand rails as part of the ‘Test of Speed’ sequence for the player to complete.
The image below also shows the pressure pad that the usert will need to find and pick an item to place on which will unlock the second carriage in the experience.
Unity Next Steps
The next steps for the unity environment is to finalise all objects and stages in the experience so that everything is in place with little interactivity at this given stage. I also need to find a way to create a train drivers carriage in the front of the train for the final stage of the experience. At the start of the story the player will also see multiple NPC characters sat around the carriage and so i think it will be great to find some models and perhaps add some animations to add a sense of immersion or engrossment in the starting environment.
Updates to my Script
After recieving some feedback for the third draft of my script I started to go back further to refine and finalise my script to be in a more polished state. Most of the feedback was to clarify some meaning or reason behind some story elements while also including my detail and clarification on some of the level design and environment that the players will be engaging with.
Over the past week i have tried to finalise most of the main aspects for this project which are the script, Game design document and the storyboard for the full experience.
Game Design Document:
I have now developed a full game design document for the ‘Mind the Gap’ Experience including details of dialogue, sound, environment and step by steps of each section and puzzle for the user.
I have now tried tried to to further develop and have all of the scenes and areas of my experience now drawn out in tiltbrush. The first scene below is where the player will start and showing multiple NPC characters who are sat around the train carriage environment.
This scene shows the first test which is the ‘Test of Hearts’ in which the playe will need to choose one of four items which are located and highlighted around the carriage. One of these items of choice will then need to be placed on the highlighted pressure pad located on the left hand side of the door to gain access to the next carriage and continue the experience.
The last scene of the experience is where the player will meet the Antagonist of the experience who is posing as the train driver. I did not have a smaller model for this area so this was hand drawn in tiltbrush which i may try to edit later as it does not fit the aesthetic of the rest of the storyboard.
After practicing with tilt-brush i wanted to delve deeper with creating my storyboard and actually filling the full train carriage with more of the puzzles, prompts and direction that the player will follow in the experience. Over the passed week I was able to draw the storyboard for the main three puzzles of the experience with the starting and ending area I hope to work on later.
Puzzle 02 – Test of Wits
At the start of the carriage i drew out the second user task in which the player will need to press four buttons around this area of the carriage in the correct sequence. I have indicated this by drawing the four buttons and using the highlight brush, i have circled each one to show its location and also drawing the number order in which they need to be pressed.
Puzzle 03 – Test of Strength
In the middle section of the carriage I have drawn out the task for the test of strength by drawing multiple blocks that are block the way for the passenger. I have then drawn multiple arrows in different directions to show that each object needs to be moved in order for the player to progress further. This is also indicated by the text prompt I have written above as the player will enter this section of the experience.
Puzzle 04 – Test of Speed
At the end of the carriage I have drawn out the task for the Test of Speed in which the player will need to pull down multiple hand rails in a given time in order to progress to the end of the carriage. I have indicated this by drawing out the hand rails and then highlighting each one with a downwards arrow indicating that each one will need to be pulled down by the player. of course this was further highlighted by some text at the start of the experience briefly explaining what the player will need to do next.
Storyboard Next Steps
I feel more confident now in using tilt-brush and feel i know what i need to do further to accomplish my full storyboard. I will of course need to complete first train carriage showing it in both states containing random NPC characters and one without NPC’s with the objects scattered around the environment. I will also need to create or find an asset for the drivers carriage showing the ‘Antagonist’ and also showing the elements of dialogue and the ending for the experience. Luckily I should be able to import some assets and objects from my initial unity build.
After my first attempt with creating a virtual reality storyboard in tilt brush and quill i knew that i would need to practice and find better ways to visualise my script and experience within this format. So after doing some research I found out that you can import 3D models and objects into tilt brush which I could then use as either a template, point of reference or a backdrop/frame for drawing my storyboard.
Importing My Assets
So i began by importing the train model that i had previously found on tilt brush that i would like to use for my experience and used this as a framework for the hand drawn elements. I wanted to start simple by trying to create one scene or frame from the script which was the fourth puzzle in which the user will need to pull down the hand rails in order to progress to the drivers carriage to end the story.
For practice and my first developments I practiced using the tilt brush controls and started to learn what tools were available for me to use which was really fun to try. I kept it simple and drew the hand rails above the seats in the environment and using the highlight brush drew around these and also drew a downwards arrow to indicate to the player that they need to pull all of these down to progress. I then drew an arrow in the direction that the character needs to move to progress further.
Next Steps
This is still not quite where i want this to be but i feel better about using the tilt brush software now that i know how to import models and assets into my tilt brush file. I know how to progress further with this and will continue to try and draw the rest of my experience over the next week and have it in a more finalized state for review by adding more detail, text prompts and other elements that i feel could enhance this and convey my story.
SECOND DRAFT OF SCRIPT
During the passed week i tried to critique my first draft of the script and tried to think of ways to refine the narrative, improve, remove or any additions that i think it might have needed. After reading through the script multiple times I decided that maybe the character that the player is embodying should speak and should be presented as a silent protagonist. This would mean that the player could perhaps embody the experience even more if they are playing themselves during the whole experience.
This meant that I needed to further rethink the dialogue of the train announcer so that the announcer would talk and present the story to the player without the player needing to answer back. After making this change to the script i feel this works better as a more immersive experience and it also reduces the amount of dialogue required keeping the experience shorter as per the project brief.
This module is more focused on the script and storyboard but we also need to create a unity build environment of our experience. I have already found some train carriage options for my experience but I then started by looking on the Unity Asset Store and turbo squid to see what assets I could find which will be useful for my experience. I began by trying out some of the different train models that I had found on turbo squid and seeing how they look and felt in the Unity environment as shown in the screenshots below.
First Puzzle Assets
I knew that for my first puzzle I wanted the user to be tested on their personality by having different objects around them to choose from each representing a different type of person. For this idea i had chosen these options:
Option 01: Wallet – This object represents the player choosing wealth or greed
Option 2: Watch– This object represents the player choosing time
Option 03: Book – This object represents the player choosing knowledge
Setting and Lighting
The entirety of this experience takes place on the London underground or a train subway and so the whole environment will always be in a dark train tube. To simulate the train moving through the underground I thought it would work very well if the whole sky box and environment was pitch black with only the lights inside the carriage on display and also a light that will pass by the train. The light can be on a repeated animation of continuously passing the trains windows on both sides to simulate the look of the train moving and passing the different lights in the tunnel.
SCRIPT DEVELOPMENTS – FIRST DRAFT
Over the passed week i have made further developments with my script where I feel I have a first draft ready for review. I discussed my current story progress with my tutors who gave me very useful feedback that perhaps I have made the story too subtle and perhaps the player could use some more guidance and more answers to this situation to elevate what they need to do and why they are playing this experience in Virtual reality rather than through a traditional gaming experience. It was also suggested to me that my puzzles perhaps needs more meaning, purpose and driving force for the whole experience. This feedback was extremely useful and really helped me to further develop my idea over the passed week.
Rethinking the narrative
One of the first elements i decided to change in my script was the narrative giver which is of course the train announcer. I initially planned for the train announcer to be kept in the traditional voice you would find on the London underground but I felt that there could be a much more fun way to convey the story. I decided to change the voice so that the actually spirit/entity is talking directly to the player and mysteriously takes over the voice to add mystery and tension for the player.
I wanted the spirit to be fun and in a way taunt the player to try and get them to be faster and rush through the experience. I wanted to make this character somewhat sarcastic and showing a sense of boredom urging the player to finish the tasks as quick as possible to prove themselves while also entertaining the spirit. In the script i have also decided to add a narrative for the player as well so they will embody a character which will talk back to the train announcer showing tension, un-ease and frustration with the person that is testing them trying to figure out what is happening. I hope that this will indicate and add a sense of urgency for the player during the duration of the experience.
Rethinking the puzzles
After receiving feedback on my idea I knew that i needed to add more meaning or narrative behind each of the puzzles and so for this reason i have based all of them around a structure while adding one more additional puzzle to the mix.
The whole experience is based around a spirit/entity testing the player for his own enjoyment and to see how much the player wants to live and so i thought it would be fun to add a ‘meaning’ or ‘purpose’ behind each one.
A Test of Hearts – This first test will remain the same in which the player will need to choose an object that represents their ‘heart’ except I have added an additional object so their will be a ‘Book’, ‘Watch’, ‘Wallet’ and ‘Book’ to have a wide range.
A Test of Wits – This will be the button sequence puzzle in which the players wits or intelligence will be tested and they will need to choose the correct order of strongest to weakest of four different chess pieces shown on buttons around the carriage.
A Test of Strength – This is a new puzzle in which the player will need to move multiple objects out the way of the entrance to the next section and this will act as a simple test of strength and willingness to progress to the next area.
A Test of Speed – This will be the pulling lever sequence in which the player will have a short amount of time to pull down all of the hand rails that are in the last section of the carriage to represent the players test of speed to get off the train.
I thought these all come together very well to show that the spirit is taunting and literally testing the player while they are completing each of the tasks which hopefully over time conveys the story of what is happening to player over the duration of the short experience.
Now that I had my idea ready I was ready to start writing the story and script for the full experience. I started by looking at different options that I could look into for the puzzles/tasks in the experience. Of course i need to remember to keep this short experience simple and short and so I cant have the puzzles too complex or difficulty to understand so i started with these puzzle options:
Puzzle 01 – Grab and Place object
For the first puzzle the user will need to pick between three different objects that represent their personality depending on their choice. When they have grabbed one of these objects they will need to place the object onto a panel next to the door to the next carriage which will confirm their choice while also opening the door to the next section.
Puzzle 02 – Button Sequence
The button sequence puzzle will involve the player having to press different buttons around the carriage in a certain sequence in order to open the next section of the carriage to progress. My idea for this is again based on the users personality of having to choose in order which seasons of the year they prefer from their favorite to their least favorite. (Choice between Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter)
Puzzle 03 – Pull Levers
The final puzzle will be for the player to pull down different hand rails or levers around the last section of the carriage in a certain sequence. The answer to this sequence could be shown as a poster or a visual queue somewhere around the carriage so the player will need to be observant of their surroundings.
Train announcer
I want the train announcer to be the main driving force for the full narrative and so I felt it would be interesting if the spirit entity that has put the player into this situation users the voice of the London Underground to guide the player through the experience. So the player will hear instructions of what to do in the same tone and voice of the London underground announcer with of course some subtle story and mysterious undertones so that over time the story will develop and make more sense to the player leading to them hopefully being curious and having their own interpretation of what happened to them and why.
STORY-BOARDING
After coming up with my initial idea for the Designer Immersive Experience project I started to look into different Unity assets that i could use to design and create this experience. Looking through the unity asset store i found a train carriage model which i felt would work very well which was quite detailed in its design and was also a good length to be separated for the different puzzles for the experience.
Below is my initial level design layout for the experience where the user will start in the first train carriage with with multiple interactive objects around them which they can use to trigger the pressure pad next to the first exit. The next train carriage will be divided into two sections so the first will be a button sequence puzzle while the next will be a lever pull sequence puzzle. After completing these tasks the player will be able to get to the drivers cabin and meet the antagonist of the whole story.
During this weeks sessions we also had our first lectures on storyboarding for virtual reality and we were encouraged to try creating storyboards in a VR software such as tiltbrush, Quill, Microsoft Maquette etc.
These are some of my initial sketches and drawings that i created using Google Tiltbrush which i did initially find to be quite difficult to use due to my lack of experience using VR drawing software. I feel that this is something that I am going to need a lot more practice on to try and create a storyboard that isnt just visually appealing but also shows the story that i want to convey.
After trying to draw the full train model i started to isolate some of the storyboard drawings into individual scenes and the images above show the lever pull sequence of my experience. I did feel again that these drawings were not the best and i would need to rethink and practice how i would show these scenes in this storyboarding format. So i feel that the next steps for the DIE project will be to look at VR drawing tutorials and look at different storyboards for both video games, Films and VR experiences to better convey my story.
