An introduction to key components of VR with a focus on how sound impacts the user's experience. Done under the instruction of Professor Shadrick Addy
Mapped
For the mapped portion of this assignment we created an activity inspired by our experiences exploring games in VR. We chose to base our created experience off of the games SuperHot, Epic Rollercoasters, and Hands Physics Lab. Some observations from these games included the presence of poor user interface, lack of onboarding and the importance of sound. For some games, like Epic Rollercoaster, the use of sound help enhance the experience by adding dimension like the sounds of nature and rocks falling. For other games like the Hands Physics Lab, the use of sound was incompatible with the game play and made it more difficult to focus. With that in mind, our activity challenged participants to solve a puzzle with little to no instructions and the interference of incompatible audio usage. Our results concluded that the use of music did interfere with users ability to solve the puzzle, and for the most part the lack of instructions, or onboarding, made that task confusing.
Located
For the located portion of the assignment we designed a workshop revolving around the importance of sound. First we made a short educational presentation on the topic, and then we asked participants to separate into their predetermined groups to add audio to movie clips that had the audio removed.
The groups were asked to analyze the scenes and then told they could use sound to take the scene in whatever direction they felt appropriate. This primarily resulted in funny audios which goes to show how sound can alter the meaning of an experience
Landed
Through this project I learned a lot about what VR actually is, how it's used, and what elements can make or break a design. Sound in particular helps dictate the meanings behind what you're doing and what a scene means. It is important to be intentional about every aspect of a design as opposed to just slapping on missing pieces, otherwise you won't be able to properly communicate the intended message.
