Project Goal · Develop an interactive Virtual Reality experience to allow museum visitors to empathize with the life of the people living during the existence of the Berlin Wall
Client · Newseum
Role · Virtual Reality User Experience Designer and Developer
Result · Featured on The Washington Post & Big Ten Conference 2017
Environment/ Interaction Design
3D/2D Assets
· Downloaded 3D models from Unity Asset Store and TurboSquid
· Used 3DS Max to pre-process the 3D models reducing their polygon counts
· Made use of photos and images from the huge archive at Newseum, Washinton DC
Interaction Design
· Direct Manipulation using handheld controller
· Visual Cues - Lighting in the scene
· Environment Design - Fog, Night time, Dark alleys
· Navigation between different scenes was done by pressing the trigger in version 1 and by pressing a 3D button in version 2
Scene 3 was a room with puzzle elements leading to the secret tunnel
Scene 2 includes buildings and the death strip of the Berlin Wall with Guard Tower in view (Notice the dark and gloomy feel of the environment)
Scene 1 includes a 4D video of a reporter explaining how the events unfolded at the Berlin Wall
User Testing
A museum visitor trying out the finished Berlin Wall VR experience at the Newseum VR meet
Conclusions
· Room scale experiences need to change with room size
· Users love exploring the environment and interacting with objects
· Reduce polygon counts of meshes
· Use level of detail to maintain high frame rates
Results · Featured in Media
Project was featured on The Washington Post
Berlin Wall VR experience will be featured during the Big Ten Conference 2017
