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Gear VR Prototypes
I have always wanted to work with virtual reality and the release of the Samsung Gear VR meant I could experiment with this for a relatively low cost. This headset is powered by Oculus meaning it provides a very fluid experience. To get to grips with VR development I completed two little projects, one focusing on the visual and immersion aspects and one focusing more on the head tracking technology.
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For the first, visual project I decided to convert one of my older projects into VR, the interactive crime scene. This was a relatively simple project in Unreal Engine 4 because to get it onto the platform it just required some tweaks in the project settings. Then the camera from the original player character was locked to the VR headset so the player can look around within the game world. To solve the input problem I decided to use a Bluetooth controller so the player could move around and interact using the controller meaning all of the original functions still worked in VR.
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The second project focusing on the head tracking technology required a lot more work as there is very little out there when it comes to this kind of input. To start I created the endless track by coding a simple blueprint that spawns and deletes tiles accordingly. The next and biggest hurdle was getting the head movement to control the ship, you can see how this was worked out in the blueprint screenshot in the gallery. With this solution the ship will fly left or right quicker or slower depending on how far the player moves their head. In this screenshot you can also see the shooting code which allows the player to shoot 3 times before the gun goes on cool down, if they do not shoot a 3rd time it will automatically recharge. The last element in this screenshot is the death code which shows the score and slows the ship down to a halt. Finally I added enemies that will strafe and shoot forwards, these enemies, along with their bullets can be shot by the player to score points. This is a fully working prototype and could easily be turned into a full game with art and high scores.
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Platform(s): Android (Gear VR).
Technology: Unreal Engine 4.
Software: Unreal Engine 4, 3DS Max, Photoshop, Illustrator, Nvidia Android Works.
Production Length: 3 Days.
Type: Personal.
Year: 2016.