ABOUT LIGHTHOUSE
Best Visuals | Academic project in 2019
The Lighthouse is an environmental experience Virtual Reality game I did with 4 other teammates.
The project innovatively features the same setting in the present and the past, which act as two distinct levels for player to delve into. Through completing exploratory tasks between two scenes, the Lighthouse aims to have player realize the impact of their past actions, and to understand that their caring for the environment can make an effective change in the future. We developed this game on Oculus Rift using Unity and created crucial 3D assets using Maya.
PROCESS
How we "Find Our Way Forward"
IDEATION
The concept of the Lighthouse VR project was built and developed from my idea of time-traveling between varied periods and places. The team favored the uniqueness of time-traveling and agreed to adopt my concept further on. We then started to discuss in more detail with a thematic focus around the environment, and propel our project progress by regular holding meetings. We also researched and looked at dozens of examples online are not only as inspiration sources to enhance our understanding of developing a VR game with many creative possibilities. But also play the role of useful development references that could help the team to learn more Unity and Oculus techniques. I collaborated on meetings for the project to elaborate with more feasible yet natural interaction to achieve the task goals. For example, refined the activate method of time-travelling between two places from a complex interaction gesture to the simple entry toward the landmark --- the Lighthouse, to go back and forth through the valid connection(shown as the sketch on the side).
DESIGN
I proposed the concept of time-traveling and decided to further enhance the feature to make it come true.
With a goal in mind, I set up the fundamental scene using Unity and tried to learn to augment our project game experience from this industry, I’ve had the chance to garner several creative and practical skills. This design project is a compilation of these skills, and has given me the motivation I need to reach a new level of achievement through this project.
MODIFICATION
I am able to organize this project's usability tests thanks to my connections. With the constructive feedback that sharing their insights and experience to this project, we could then do better to refine and execute the meaningful we try to pass through this creative project. This project allows me to reflect and think about possibilities and alternatives to solve the situation that has emerged.
SHOWCASE
Final showcase display in public, at SFU Surrey Mezzanine, on Dec 4, 2019. I took the role of designing the visual poster for the team. I aim to create a poster that is visually intriguing, includes all the main features and generate a look that could represent the project idea while being particularly stand-out from the rest of the other teams. The poster was designed in one day.
REFLECTION
Although the project completed by the public showcase day, I think the further revision is important for lifting the project to a higher-level. But overall, the project received good feedback from the public and I’ve become more confident in delivering the design with my motto "Design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown"to the world.