| Introduction Photo Swap is a mobile VR application for new VR users. The object of the game is to arrange a set of 360 degree photospheres to tell a story. Photo Swap has one level with a “Stations of the Cross” theme and will likely appeal most to a Christian audience. Photo Swap was a group project built by Team Ludus as an optional part of Udacity's online Nanodegree. |
Breakdown of the Final Piece The entire game takes place inside of photospheres, including one which is used as a skybox. After the player starts the game, they are presented with a set of five columns, each holding a photosphere. The initial placement of these spheres is randomly generated. By clicking on the photospheres, the player can move the spheres between columns. Spheres can also be placed on a smaller staging column in front of the other five. When the player clicks on a sphere on the staging column, they are moved inside of the sphere to see a 360 degree image. Each of these images have been chosen to tell a story, specifically that of the Stations of the Cross. The player can leave the image and return to the game by clicking anywhere. When the player has arranged the photospheres into the proper order, they have the option of restarting the game, which reshuffles the photospheres. | Story of the Process The educational focuses of this project were practicing scripting by building a basic game mechanic from scratch and working with photospheres. To isolate these challenges, I started by building a prototype of the game using placeholder artwork, including simple colored spheres and white cylinders for columns. Once the game mechanics were set, I began researching how to take 360 degree photos so that they could be imported into Unity as photospheres. Finally, I improved the aesthetics of the game by adding sound and fine-tuning the UI elements. |
Potential Future Improvements
The instantaneous movement of the spheres felt somewhat jarring and made it difficult for some test users to know what happened after they clicked on a sphere. The visuals of the game could thus be improved if spheres moved between pedestals in continuous arcs. Further, when the player selects an orb on the staging pedestal, the orb could move towards them and envelop them inside the image so that it is clear to the player that they have moved into the orb they were previously looking at. Such changes, however, would require a fair amount of testing and iteration to avoid problems such as orbs passing through each other or causing user discomfort. Photo Swap could be further improved if it provided a more satisfying result for completing the game, such as playing a 360 degree video that shows the full story of which the images in the game are snapshots.
Where Photo Swap has the most room for improvement, however, is in its scope of content. Currently, there is only one set of five images to be arranged. An expanded version of the game could include multiple levels, each with its own story, theme, and environment. Users could navigate between levels via “Next” and “Previous” buttons if there are a relatively small number of levels, or via a menu system if the number is large. Adding levels would increase play-through time and also allow the game to appeal to a wider audience by including something for everyone. A more ambitious improvement to the game along the same lines would be if the game included a template that allowed users to create their own levels and share them with others within the game.
The instantaneous movement of the spheres felt somewhat jarring and made it difficult for some test users to know what happened after they clicked on a sphere. The visuals of the game could thus be improved if spheres moved between pedestals in continuous arcs. Further, when the player selects an orb on the staging pedestal, the orb could move towards them and envelop them inside the image so that it is clear to the player that they have moved into the orb they were previously looking at. Such changes, however, would require a fair amount of testing and iteration to avoid problems such as orbs passing through each other or causing user discomfort. Photo Swap could be further improved if it provided a more satisfying result for completing the game, such as playing a 360 degree video that shows the full story of which the images in the game are snapshots.
Where Photo Swap has the most room for improvement, however, is in its scope of content. Currently, there is only one set of five images to be arranged. An expanded version of the game could include multiple levels, each with its own story, theme, and environment. Users could navigate between levels via “Next” and “Previous” buttons if there are a relatively small number of levels, or via a menu system if the number is large. Adding levels would increase play-through time and also allow the game to appeal to a wider audience by including something for everyone. A more ambitious improvement to the game along the same lines would be if the game included a template that allowed users to create their own levels and share them with others within the game.
Conclusion
Photo Swap is a short game with a simple mechanic. It has great potential for expansion, but feels like a complete experience as-is. Where Photo Swap shines is in the way it uses photospheres and music to create a fully coherent and immersive experience, especially for people new to VR.
Photo Swap is a short game with a simple mechanic. It has great potential for expansion, but feels like a complete experience as-is. Where Photo Swap shines is in the way it uses photospheres and music to create a fully coherent and immersive experience, especially for people new to VR.