#webxr

Last week, I realised that I completely forgot to share here a demo project that I made this summer. I had the opportunity to try the Oculus Quest when it came out and liked it so much that I bought it as soon as it came out.

The Quest supports an emerging technology called WebVR, which allows websites to control the headset and render immersive experiences to users without having to install any apps or even leaving the browser.

I’m fascinated with VR which not so long ago was the subject of various sci-fi and cyberpunk novels like Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash and William Gibson’s Neuromancer. I believe that we’ll be hearing a lot more about VR in the coming years.

Being a programmer, I wanted to try developing a VR experience of my own. I’m a massive fan of The Matrix trilogy and the visuals in the films at the same time, and as it turns out, it lends itself perfectly for testing the waters of VR.

Anyway, here’s a short 3D experience inspired by the movie. If you have a VR set, it should work with it. If not, it will run in your browser in 360-mode on your laptop or phone. Here’s the link:

Inside the Matrix VR

Warning: Includes some abrupt sound effects.

WebXR still seems to be alive but only if you own an Occulus headset or build a native application. If I ever want to get Localio out into the world, I fear it may be forced to run on a device that is only supported for a few years. I’m including iPhones in that category by the way. I saw a lot of the games I enjoyed on iOS get zero backwards compatibility love with newer iOS versions which seems like such a sleazy way to make developers keep paying the license fee. I do understand that unsupported software can be considered dead to some people but I was a console kid where software on a cartridge or disc runs forever long after the developers have moved on.

4-Player XR Space Shuttle Launch Simulator Built with A-Frame

STS Odyssey is a multiplayer WebXR experience that challenges four players to work together to successfully launch NASA’s space shuttle Discovery. Two players take on the role of Mission Control, while the other two serve as astronauts aboard the shuttle, coordinating in real-time to complete mission-critical tasks.

Developed using A-Frame, an open-source WebXR framework, STS Odyssey features a fully interactive, networked simulation accessible across VR headsets, PCs, and mobile devices. The experience integrates real-time multiplayer interactions, physics-based mechanics, and synchronized task systems, requiring players to manipulate cockpit controls, monitor telemetry, and execute precise launch sequences. Custom A-Frame components were developed to handle user interactions, interface elements, and mission-critical logic.

The project was made by 4 developers across a 4 months sprint for the Ingenium Museum of Science and Technology as part of a student-client course experience.

My role focused on 3D modelling in Blender, user experience design and testing, and event programming in Javascript.

You can view the code, and learn more about the A-Frame/Circles VR framework at our repository!

StacyG15/STS_Odyssey: IMD 3901 - Final project using CirclesXR framework

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