#putdownthatdrone

Final video demonstration of ‘Choke’.

Images of the presentation.

The following contains a list of assets used in the creation of my VR experience. Everything was sourced under a creative license, allowing distribution under regulated usage.

Music:

BGM: ‘This Breeze Reminds Me of Purple’ - Akshay Pednekar

Effects: freesound.org

Unity Assets:

Bathroom Props - Kobra Game Studios

Interactive classic car 1955, PBR, 3 styles - Deuflorean

Props for the Classroom - VR

Yughues Concrete Materials - Nobiax / Yughues

Free Night Sky - qianyuez

Cardboard - Google

Hand Painted Forest Environment - Patryk Zatylny

Simple Home Stuff - Mohelm97

Town Houses - ChermandirKun

Lamps - Nova Shade

Locker - VIS Games

Realistic Terrain Collection - 400m Creations

Small Town America - MultiFlagStudios

Snowed Fence - Justwo

SurrounDead - Justwo

Taichi - Game Asset Studio

Shader - Dr.Game

The Bloody Door - Tim H.

Yughues Palm Trees - Nobiax / Yughues

Contextual Statement

‘Choke’ explores the possibility of creative technologies being able to tell a story that tackles a social issue in combination with intuitive emergences. The immersive nature of VR (virtual reality) has the potential to take storytelling further than before, exhibiting particular usage as an educational tool through the exploration of various communicative techniques.

To begin, storytelling can be defined by the dictionary as the “activity of telling or writing stories” (Storytelling, n.d.); denoting in this context the formation of a concept which is then executed for the audience to understand. This project thus uses VR as a vehicle to tell the story of a protagonist living with mental illness to serve as a catalyst for open discussion around the topic.

Regarded as an ‘empathy machine’ (Alsever, 2004), the VR’s HMD (head-mounted display has the ability to explore various situations and concepts through the eyes of another, creating an intimate understanding between the player and the player character. Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) has seen a large amount of success, thanks to patients being able to face a number of psychological trauma in a controlled environment. This exposure allows them to control fears or concerns and eventually build an ‘immunity’ to mental blockages (Alpers, Diemer, Mühlberger, Peperkorn, & Shiban, 2015).

Exploring a number of different usages of such therapy, it quickly becomes clear that although niche, the results are surprisingly effective: Virtual Iraq (Virtual Iraq, n.d.) is a VRT experience that contains a set of environments designed to combat post- traumatic stress disorder experienced by combat service men and women who have been deployed in Afghanistan through stimuli; Project Syria (Emblematic Group, 2013) is an immersive experience tackling the current refugee stigma using VR to place the viewer behind the eyes of a refugee in an environment recreated from real life footage.

This, amongst other demonstrations of VR show a common denominator of therapy — or rather, education — through the form of an experience. An experiential approach seems to define the exploration into social issues, versus a game application which has the potential to trivialise, a reason for the deviation in focus of this project. The content of the experience delivers emotional impact through triggers experienced in ‘character embodiment’. The aforementioned term can be defined, in the simplest sense, as “the sense that something is a part of one's body,” (Lankoski, 2016).

On a logical level, it can be said that the Mechanics of a game exhibit an effect on the way a player experiences the system, which is supported by the ‘Magic Circle’ concept (Salen, & Zimmerman, 2003). This idea connotes a framework of which the player is acutely aware of boundaries, but not entirely cognitive of. This frame is the boundary between the world of the game and reality, which has been willingly submitted to. The Magic Circle is an extremely important aspect so as to ensure that the user retains the feeling of immersion within the context of the game. Since the parameters of VR provide an isolated visual for the player to immerse themselves in, one experiences embodied cognition through the sensorimotor simulation (April, Celia, Danielle, Drumm- Hewitt, Gunraj & Klin. 2014).

Considering the abstract nature of an ‘emotional experience’, it is also important to explore the non-tangible aspects of the topic to achieve the peak of cognitive awareness. From a psychological perspective, the consensus reveals that a game’s appeal may stem from the player’s own experiences and surroundings (Lynch, Murayama, Przybylski, Ryan, & Weinstein, 2011). Said surroundings may include the sense and presence of immersion, as well as actual game elements (Rigby, Ryan, & Przybylski, 2006), which calls for more consideration with the nature of controls amongst VR.

Relying mainly on visual and aural elements, this immersion must be created through appropriate triggers that play on the user’s psyche. In addition to the nature of movement and the tonal approach to the game, supporting elements such as colour psychology, character modelling and sound call for emotional influence (or ‘trigger’ in this documentation).

Student No: #15899186 Contextual Statement Matthew Laguda

The real question here is: do outside people really understand the mental illness of depression and anxiety? As a societal topic that has endured endless amounts of stigma throughout the years, it is not so easy to confuse ‘empathy’ with a helpline flier. To subject one to an mental environment as closely accurate to the status quo is the only way true empathy can really be achieved (Justice, 2008), which is what this project aims to do.

In New Zealand alone, one in seven teenagers live with depression (“Depression”, n.d.), while even more experience anxiety as a byproduct of or in accordance with the former. The problem that this project aims to address and as such where it sits in a societal purpose, is the general discourse between communication of those living with depression and anxiety and those who are not.

The concept of ‘feeling’ is difficult to quantify with data, but it is of general consensus that the topic of mental illness is difficult to approach, simply because it is not a topic that is approached in normal conversation. A person undergoing the experience will rarely bring up a personal problem to an external party as it feels like a narcissistic topic of conversation, associated with feelings of guilt, shame and even rejection (Byrne, 2000). Though this is not entirely a definitive case, the situation is prominent enough to be justified. Perhaps even this lack of statistical data, or need of it to quantify, contributes to a social mindset that emotions are not justifiable in the abstract.

References

Ayomide, D. (2017, April 14). Why Depression Is Hard To Talk About. Retrieved from https://gloriouspublication.com/why- depression-is-hard-to-talk-about-346fcdf743c3

Byrne, P. (2000). Stigma of mental illness and ways of diminishing it. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 6(1), 65. https://doi.org/ 10.1192/apt.6.1.65

Depression: Are Your Settings Stuck On ‘Low’?. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://thelowdown.co.nz/categories/depression/depression Lankoski, P. (2016). Embodiment in character-based videogames. In Proceedings of the 20th International Academic Mindtrek

Conference (AcademicMindtrek '16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 358-365. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2994310.2994320

Emblematic Group. (2013). Project Syria [Video game]. California: Emblematic Group.

Gunraj, D. N.; Drumm-Hewitt, A.M.; Klin, C.M. (2014). Embodiment during reading: Simulating a story character’s linguistic actions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, Vol 40(2), Mar 2014, 364-375. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/a0034853

Justice, L. R. (2008). Empathy in Mental Illness. Psychiatric Services, 59(5), 581–581. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2008.59.5.581 storytelling. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved June 13, 2017 from Dictionary.com website http://

www.dictionary.com/browse/storytelling Virtual Iraq. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.virtuallybetter.com/virtual-iraq/

Conceptual Statement

‘Choke’ is a virtual reality (VR) experience that forces the player to live through the day of someone experiencing mental illness (specifically depression and anxiety); a direct response to combat the difficulty of communication between the parties of those living with depression and anxiety, and those without. With a level of understand comes a level of empathy, thus Choke has developed from a place of ‘reverse therapy’ of sorts, targeting an external demographic in the form of education. It relies on visual and aural emotional triggers to allow the player to embody the protagonist’s life in order to improve understanding between the two parties.

Depression and anxiety are difficult concepts to quantify as they not only exist in a metaphysical plane, but are extremely personal as well (“Measuring Depression”, 2007). The concepts used to develop the tonal feel of the outcome are a conglomerate of various stories of those living with depression and anxiety. To captivate the most relatable aspect for impact particular feeling that has been chosen due to its relatable and influential nature is ‘isolation’.

What does it mean to be isolated? The dictionary defines it as “the state of being set or placed apart; detached or separate so as to be alone.” (Isolation, n.d.) In itself, it covers a number of different bases, extending to both the physical and metaphysical realm. To begin with, it is not uncommon for those living with depression and anxiety to seek to isolate themselves. Reasons may include not wanting to be a burden to others with problems or attitudes; lacking the motivation to interact with other human beings; mental self-defence to protect from emotional triggers; or even the inability to escape one’s own thoughts. A depressive/anxious episode is difficult to escape because isolation erects an emotional and physical barrier that drowns outside helping hands and leaves one to be constantly attacked by their own demons.

Isolation in my sense of the game occurs in the way that the protagonist filters out the world and makes it almost surreal in order to more easily allow them to escape it. The visual triggers that occur around them are signs of this construct breaking down, where the mental barrier is bombarded with seemingly mundane things that threaten stability and the coping mechanism.

As a social species, removing oneself from the human system is a universally alien feeling. By having a non-responsive environment - in the way that other characters all seem like flat models - the player then experiences isolation in the mind of the character. For someone who does not understand this feeling (i.e. the target demographic), this tactic makes them feel confused and uncomfortable (Berry-Smith, 2012).

Consequently, this has informed a large amount of the functionality behind the produced artefact, the greatest of which is it’s reliance on movement scripts. Dubbed ‘autowalk’, the code is a modified version of a popular mechanic the makes characters move when facing a specific object in the reticle. This has been modified in the context to better suit the product; instead of facing an element to move, the user instead walks forward when facing the ground. By doing so, the motion supports a sense of ‘head hung in shame’, which is a significant feeling that often accompanies depression and anxiety. In scenes where the player is free to roam around, they are only able to actually progress by looking at the ground, or keeping other characters in their peripherals. This mutates the others into forms that seemingly watch the player, although they revert back to normal upon looking up.

While this experience pulls from true to life scenarios as inspiration, research has shown that pulling elements from certain game genres may elicit particular subconscious emotion. Dr Andrew Weaver, a researcher on horror games stated that “Fear is a noxious emotion,” (“The Psychology of Horror Games”, 2015). Deep-rooted in our psyche is an inability to comprehend the unknown, specifically things such as darkness or phenomena we cannot perceive in our immediate visuals. Abnormalities that skew our normalised perception of the world heavily impact us and leave us uncomfortable and uneasy (termed “body horror” in reference to the human perspective). Scare tactics are without a doubt an easy elicitor of emotional response. As long as a game does not become entirely horrific, it even entices the player to remain and reengage themselves time and time again.

Student No: #15899186 Conceptual Statement Matthew Laguda

The application of this concept sits in the final experience in the form of various levels of darkness that walk the line of reality and hyperreality. It capitalises on the common feeling of a decreased vision of the world following a depressive episode. These levels are sprinkled between normal scenes to give the player a sense of slipping in and out of this reality, allowing them to reengage with the content onscreen. Character models have also between stripped of any features through blackout shaders to desensitise the viewer of a human connection (a denominator of aforementioned body horror), symbolising a person’s inability to connect — once again — with reality.

Conceptually, isolation has also informed a number of aesthetic choices to support the final produced experience. Colour psychology is a significant element to consider when creating visual constructs, as it connotes the effect of colour hues on human behaviour. Multiple studies have led to the conclusion that colour influences a number of aspects in daily life, for example through perception of food, placebo effectiveness (i.e. in stimulant status of medication), as well as marketing and branding (McMahen, 2015). Red is a prominent shader used throughout Choke as it is symbolic of aggression and inciter of anxiety; for example, being used as the colour of lockers as the player walks through a long, empty corridor to create a sense of angst over what is to come. Graffiti is coloured red and is stark against the character’s white bedroom walls to indicate a stain against purity.

References

American Physical Society. (2007, September 10). Measuring Depression. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2007/09/070905203624.htm

Berry-Smith, S. (2012). Death, Freedom, Isolation and Meaninglessness, And The Existential Psychotherapy of Irvin D. Yalom [PDF]. Retrieved from http://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10292/4611/Berry-SmithS.pdf

isolation. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved June 13, 2017 from Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com/ browse/isolation

McMahen, M. (2015). What is Visual Sensory Processing Disorder?. Retrieved from https://www.snugvest.com/blogs/news/ 17921752-what-is-visual-sensory-processing-disorder

The Psychology of Horror Games. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2015/10/the-psychology-of- horror-games/

For the story board of the scenes  I decided to take a different approach and try to implement paper craftsmanship. Here is the Video.

Though how the editing did not go as the planing of the story board or story paper was I believe I did a decent job. 

Final Outcomes