BCT Journey

For the last two weeks I worked on getting the start menu UI working by implementing buttons on written text within unity. I created a simple design and created a script that allows these buttons to be pressed and lead into the start game phase when play is pressed. We were not able to implement this into our main project file as we were unable to meet and scripts were buggy when sent online but intend to continue to work through this project even after university and implement all these scripts into the main file. After so much coding I decided to take a break and focus on designing out some UI for our actual project file. 

In week 10 throughout 11 I continued to work on scripting in mechanics but had shifted my focus towards the UI after completing a timer evaluation script that was more refined than the last one. I started by creating a pause menu script but had to go through many different iterations in order to get the script somewhat functioning as I did not have a UI screen already designed to test it out on. This was a bit of a challenge to do alone as games require many different mechanics and UI buttons to create a seamless and immersive experience which made me use a much smaller scale for a start and start implementing some assets to help. 

During this time I was getting back into scripting some more code for the final project. I used a combination of the unity forums and YouTube videos to help out in the process as looking for that one error in each code had become frustrating and I had to discard a lot of the already written scripts. 

In week 7, we had split off to each do our separate portions of the game with the intent to come together next semester to connect it all together and fix any issues while testing out the game. For my role I continued to work on coding scripts for our game with the main struggle being the code has to be used in AR, which meant the code has to be modified to fit the AR parameters. After testing out the scripts it will be a lot easier to tell if there are any issues in the game with certain functions and how I can go about adapting the code to better fit AR in terms of functionality and compatibility. I also explored alternatives to functions such as ray casting with the consideration that the app has to run on most smartphones low spec and high spec. I started playing with the game design and textures to try and make the experience more immersive. I created a smoke texture and added it into a cube to see how the animation fits on a cube and how we can make our UI and in game objects blend in with the environment but still stand out enough for players to know its interactable. I did this with a smaller translucent flame effect and using a real image as well and will test all these objects on a mobile phone to see how well it blends in with the option of highlighting objects if the objects are too camouflaged.    

By this week we had split off to do our individual tasks for the project as well as focus on other assignments but the main emphasis was based on our critique session. The feedback we received was to focus on one element and make it exceptionally better rather than focusing on all 3 elements and not have them be made as good, due to also focusing on making title menus and ending screens. With this feedback we decided to focus on the earth phase as our MVP and making it our overall selling point. 

In week 5 we took in our game design plan back to SkillsVR to get further feedback on what our next steps our, as we wanted to thoroughly plan out every step before we went onto the actual game development. We met with SkillsVR lead designer Paul who gave us feedback on our miro game plan. The main feedback was to keep it clear and simple rather than planning complex. We already had a clear concept of what we wanted from our game but the insights we received from Paul allowed us to see from a professional designers point of view and how they would go about designing the game, as well as considering other alternatives. 

During the 4th week we begun working on the 3 main scenes game design plan by splitting into pairs. The scene/element Me and Mary were working on was the wind element. We broke down each individual action and processes when coming from the title screen to continuing on to the next phase. This broke down each of the functions which were needed in each segment of each scene which was especially helpful for me in order to write scripts using C# that can be used when putting our game design into our actual game. This plan helped us pave different pathways within our game that can be utilized based on different inputs/actions. 

In week 3 we created a tutorial video on how our app would work using AR elements, to show users a basic guideline. This showed how to scan the environment to create an area in which the game would function in. We decided on using a room scale that is 2.5m by 2.5m as a starting basis with the option to change the area after further testing through our actual game. We also decided to split off into pairs to work on different segments of the our game design as we have 6 group members and 3 main segments represented by water, earth and wind. 

The visit to SkillsVR helped us learn how to plan our each game segment using miro and creating a timeline of each action and interface within our game which we started to further develop on. 

For my next steps, next semester, would be to resume coding and start developing a prototype app, in which we can import our project on and allow users to test out. This will include more app layout designs, network connecting, as well as optimizing on various devices.   

 I was focusing on creating a basis for the poster through designs already made by Mary and Ray, as the rest of the group was carrying on the business, 3D modelling and branding aspect. The main concept I had was using the double C showing our brand name, while also utilizing the cultural old wise owl moon concept, which directly correlates to our brand archetype. I did this by learning how to use illustrator, which was a good tool for creating and designing posters. However half through week 10 and following into week 11, I had contracted Covid-19, which was a great limitation as I was stuck at home, as well as having fairly bad symptoms. This hindered my ability to continue doing work at the intended rate.  

However I didn't find these on screen methods as immersive to the project, which is when I started looking into utilizing Google Cardboard, as it uses the power of mobile devices. This idea was brought directly from the VR paper, as most AR experiences are a download on your phone and look around versions, whereas this concept would utilize a VR headset in AR functionality. The movement would be bound to the phones motion detection, as well as using the Google Cardboards button for interactivity. This would make for a much more immersive experience, while retaining low cost efficient resources such as the cardboard. The google cardboard could be utilized in education projects such as ours in demonstrating concepts at museums, project events ,etc.  This would be beneficial as it shows 3D based models along with interaction of them, which would bring an exciting technology element into educating others on cultural importance. Along with this the Google Cardboard can be modified to allow two separate buttons which allows triggers by pressing each side of the phone screen.  

Forgot to post this blog earlier back so here it is now. We decided to create a survey and all pitched in on different slides to write down potential questions that would be relevant to our project on VR/AR. We divided the questions up into different audience groups which were general, tourists, stakeholders, teachers and kids. The goal was to have all of us come up with five questions per audience, in order to gain a wide variety of questions, that we could later combine by choosing the best questions for our survey. The different audiences would help accommodate problems that we can address and fix within our project from their respective roles in society.  

For my next steps, I built a Google cardboard headset and tried zooming in for an interior view of the Marae. The issue with this process was that the lens on the google cardboard required a specific app created by Google, which would not allow fbx or obj files to be imported, as well as a mirrored split screen on each eye lens. This gives us an idea on creating our app on how we can mirror the two eye lenses for our next steps moving forward. While Tom and Tim were able to find an app for Android phones called ARcore, which allowed us to experiment with different apps and view the layout. From the apps we used, we noticed the UI took up quite a bit of space and almost overshadowed the main model, which is something we can consider for our app design, along with the usability and functionality. 

For my next direction I will be learning more advanced mechanics, more specifically tailored to our project, as well as utilizing what I have learnt from Space, Image and Sound paper. I will start focusing on various iterations of prototypes for the app design, then consulting the rest of the group for feedback on which direction to go and develop. This is due to the extensive amount of time it uses to create an app and going in the write direction from the start would be more beneficial. From my VR paper, I will also be developing an escape room with some changes and different elements which will help development of this project and see what more can be added from a mechanical viewpoint, whereas my other team members will be focusing on modelling, cultural aspects, etc.

For week 5 we started looking at various methods of producing our prototype. Our group leader Thomas Perase found a app which enabled us to convert fbx files into AR. I exported the model made by Timothy Yau using Blendr, into AR using an app called ARki, which gave us a general idea of how it would look and move, getting hands on with AR. The app was only available for Mobile Apple devices, which was a limitation for our group as I was the only member with an iPhone. However this created our first lo-fi prototype model. 

During this week we were planning out ideas on how we would create our first prototype whilst focusing on all aspects of our interest. This included the escape room aspect and storytelling aspect. We were using the decide part of the double diamond to focus on a smaller scale first then move on to a bigger prototype. We decided to focus on the front part of Marae/Wharenui , which would highlight and showcase different and smaller aspects of the front. The concept was to look at a smaller section of the front and have it glow and display a popup or animated short giving a cultural story of the highlighted part.