Development Log: Space VR Game Improvements

Motivation for the 2nd Round

While we were overwhelmed as graduate students with numerous research projects, our passion to excel in this competition kept us moving forward. We believed in our potential to not only excel in the game task but also clinch the overall first prize.

2. Feedback Received

We were privileged to receive feedback from Skonec, a company specializing in VR game development. Their primary focus was on user experience and the game design.

3. Objective Feedback Analysis

We understood the importance of being objective about the feedback as well as our own project. It was crucial to differentiate between high and low priority tasks to maximize our game’s potential.

4. Low Priority Enhancements

• Introduction of minor visual enhancements like glass damage on the spaceship.
• Addition of animated minion workers around the cockpit.
• While these features would elevate the game’s aesthetics, they weren’t critical to the gameplay.

5. High Priority Enhancements

Debris Variation

We replaced vague objects with real space debris like satellites and turbines.

Spaceship Controls

The cockpit’s realism was enhanced, greatly improving gameplay.

Spaceship Design

Our artist revamped the spaceship’s design for a comprehensive 360° VR experience. We transitioned from a plane-like cockpit to a more captivating UFO design, enriched with illumination.

User Interface Enhancements

• Warning UI: Alerting players when they exit the spaceship’s boundary, ensuring their safety.
• Leaderboard: To foster a competitive environment.
• Map UI: Enabling players to visually track their location.

6. Environmental Themes and Characters

• The game’s environment underwent a complete overhaul.
• Monsters from the initial version were visually transformed into trash monsters. These creatures drop trash which players must recycle upon defeating them.
• Planets were enriched with NPC characters. Their presence and animations, reacting to player success or failure, added vibrancy to the scenes. The transformative effect of just one NPC character was beyond our expectations.

7. Technical Improvements

Optimization

Scene and art model optimization was a major focus. A model initially with 8,000 triangles was streamlined to 800, leading to a 5-fold increase in scene loading speed.