What is Virtual Reality Acrophobia?
Virtual Reality Acrophobia is a project started with Martin Geesas-Gabion and myself, Taylor Sue. Our goal was to create a virtual experience that would help people suffering from acrophobia, the fear of heights. We chose the acrophobia as it is a very common phobia and is very dependant on the environment.
How is Virtual Reality Acrophobia different from other simulations?
With Virtual Reality Acrophobia we are aiming to make the experience as realistic as possible by using the new Unreal Engine 4 technology. As a team we have put considerable effort into making the map, buildings and functionality of the building similar to what would be experienced in real life. Other simulations have a heavy focus on the mechanics of their simulation but forget about making their designs realistic. We found that this could be a weak point as users may not be able to relate this to real world situations.
Attention to Detail
Careful attention to detail through studying the aspects of what was lacking as I created the building were very important, these could range from seemingly insignificant details such as the railing in the elevator to the glass tint used on the building or even the colour of the light in the lobby but I feel that it adds more to the holistic experience. These elements can be explained using reverse engineering however their implementation was primarily due to a comparison done on researching the real elevator, lobby or building. Subconsciously the user can have a large impact by these small changes such as, railing provides a sense of security, glass tint lets them know there's a blocking force between the inside and the outside of the elevator/elevator shaft and a brown light tint has less sterility than a white one. This detail has been carried over to a city-scape making as realistic experience as possible but also keeping the simulation as a method of exposure therapy, adjustments for effectively visualizing depth was a huge aspect of the city-scape . Clarity for user experience was essential with our simulation and as such the use of illuminated instructions and directions was used.
Map Design
Through discussion and critique in class we decided to re-make our simulation so we knew with certainty that new obstacles could be placed in the map, while remaining within the context of the simulation. This map is a contemporary city with office buildings, our main building is central to the city and has three main obstacles, those being an elevator, indoor stairs and outdoor stairs with a fourth as a glass bridge used as an extra challenge.
Textures
Textures for the simulation were created from scratch using images and creating UV/Normal maps or involved editing of the material directly through UE4. We found this was extremely important due to how each texture appears differently under certain conditions such as lighting and whether the design is appropriate for the building. A variety of textures were used to build
Mechanics
Virtual Reality Acrophobia assesses the users movement throughout the simulation and uses this to offer informed feedback. This includes simulation time, percentage of timed looking down and average movement speed. From this the user is given positive reinforcement or advice to make improvements.
Final Outcome
With play testing we had surprisingly good results from users, even though most of the users were not from the target group they felt a good sense of depth in various obstacles. The interaction with the game was interesting in how the users would explore the map and inherently know what to do even without the need of too much guidance. This project was satisfying for Martin and I and we're pleased with the outcome.
Division of Work
Martin and I have divided sections of work as to speed the process of development up, and keep consistency within the project. With this project I have focused on the design of the main building and the game mechanics over all,. Martin has worked on researching the project, but also the textures for surrounding buildings. Both of us work together on everything to some extent but this is the primary division between the two.