Introduction
I’m wrapping up the current term of the VR Developer Nanodegree I’m taking on Udacity, and it’s time for me to start thinking about what my focus should be: Mobile 360 Development, or High Immersion. A big part of this is thinking about what my next application should be.
One of the ideas listed as an example for a second project was an exploration of the solar system. As soon as I saw this, I knew it was the project I was going to make for two reasons: I’ve always wanted to make an educational experience about the solar system (I know I have notes about just such a thing written in one of my many notebooks), and because I think it would be relatively easy to create.
User Profile
Name: Alex
Age: 7
Quote: “Fortnite is the best”
Description: Alex is a typical 7 year-old boy. He likes video games, space, lego and Minecraft.
VR Experience: None
Initial Application Overview
I already have a pretty solid vision for what I would like this app to look like. Now that I have a user profile in mind, I just have to design the experience with him in mind.
Some things I have to consider:
Do I want this to be a passive or active experience?
- Given that Alex is only 7 and a fan of high-action games like Fortnite, I think it’s safe to say he’s going to need an active experience if he’s to remain engaged. Therefore, rather than just having an on-rails ride through the solar system, I’ll have to give the user control over what they will explore.
What are the technical requirements for an app like this? Will Cardboard suffice, or will I need high-end power offered by something like the Vive?
- Given what I currently have in mind, I think that using Google Cardboard for this experience will be fine. The user will be able to select objects to move toward them and have the ability to look around to get a better visual if need be. Also, high-end phones should be more than powerful enough to render some spheres with high-res textures.
What special considerations should I take into account for the target audience?
- The most important thing to consider for this experience in terms of target audience is age and level of VR experience. The profile above shows that the application should be able to be used by young individuals and those with no prior VR experience. This means that all controls should be intuitive, and the environment should make the user feel as comfortable as possible.
Additional Questions
How would Augmented Reality better help teach your experience?
- The only way that I can imagine augmented reality improving this experience would be for the application to have a secondary mode which allows the user to see where the celestial bodies are actually located, in real time, from their actual location on earth.
How could eye tracking help you better tailor your experience to your students?
- In this application eye tracking could improve the experience by using true gaze input.
How would better Haptics better teach your experience?
- Haptics would have very little impact on this particular experience.
How important is graphical fidelity to your experience?
- Not immensely important. The goal is to teach about the size, location and details of various celestial bodies in our solar system. This could be done with 2D cutouts if I really wanted, but 3D models will work more nicely.
How critical is it that your target student receives this training within the next two years?
- Not critical whatsoever. This is not mandatory training, but an educational experience created for fun.