Immersive Free Roam VR Prototype
Players will control their in game counterpart by walking around a physical play area while wearing a vr headset to display the game itself. Additionally player’s will wear noise canceling headphones. The end goal is to make the experience as immersive as possible where every sense is screaming to the player that they are really within the game world that they see in front of them. Then the player’s expectations of realism are broken apart with impossible map geometry, teleporters, moving objects and more
Technologies Used
Built in the Unity 3D Engine
Programmed in C# using Visual Studio
3D Models created using Blender
A map on a grid : The foundation of this project is that the real position of each player and manipulatable object is translated to fit within the warped game space representation of the real play area. Players may walk over curved surfaces, walk on walls or ceilings, and ride moving platforms and vehicles. A smoke and mirror approach is used in the level designs to hide how things are functioning by breaking apart the play space and reusing real areas multiple times within the same level.
Rough Overview
Each real tile is linked to a “sister” tile within the game and any movements made by the real player are translated to the in game tile. This translation takes into account the in game tile’s position, rotation, and scale. Allowing for some really interesting map design given the constraints of having a real player controlling the game character through physically walking around a space.
The top screen of each demo displays a representation of the real playspace with the bottom screen showcasing the in game world.
The translator system can be used for more than players, where objects like a real/ physical crate can be tracked in the real play space and players could see the virtual counterpart of this object within the game space.
This can be used for interesting game design such as for puzzles, pushable cover (a foam box on wheels?) or gameplay elements such as a special weapon or item that a player could physically pick up and hold in reality while they use it in game.
Real World Representation
In-Game Layout
Tracking Illegal Positions
If a player steps through a wall in game they are immediately “pulled” from the game and placed in the virtual representation of the real world playspace. They will rejoin the game when stepping back into the last legal position the system logged.
To ensure player safety it is important to constantly display all player’s real positions while within this representative space.
To prevent this system from compromising competitive integrity a handful of approaches could be used on their own or in tandem.
A : Rapidly damage players who find themselves “out of bounds”
B : Strip all identifying markers from other real players in this space and display them as ghost like silhouettes.
C : In addition to real player markers, have additional “fake player” actors in this space to have a sort of jamming effect on any player attempting to exploit this system for an advantage.
Maximizing Available Space
By Reusing real play areas the illusion of actual motion can be created. Reused playspaces can maintain their multiplayer friendliness by disabling certain “floors” or “stops” on the route of a moving object based on where real players are in the playspace.
The End Goal
My goal is to use these techniques to create an in person, competitive multiplayer shooter which would essentially be the future of laser tag, paintball, and airsoft. By hosting the game within a virtual space so much more is possible than ever before for an in person battle arena. Beyond just the above showcased map design potential we can play with concepts such as player abilities, pickup-able weapons and powerups. I want to make this a reality because I know that I myself would quickly find myself binging a game like this.
The future: Eventually I would like these play spaces to utilize modular wall panels which can be slotted into place to form a physical representation of the in game levels. This would allow a player to feel what they see, greatly increasing the level of immersion while players find themselves in impossible environments.