Max and I decided to use “poison” as our starting point in order to create an interactive project where the user is poisoned and the user must find the various ingredients in the room to create the antidote.
We first began by creating the setting of the scene. I went through the assets store to see if there are any materials and textures that we could use in our setting. I found several prefabs and textures that I felt could be combined to match our idea of our setting. So, first, I imported some prefabs, added some objects, and created a dungeon-like room that was not too dark since the user will have to walk around in the space and find the ingredients of the antidote.
However, after building the bulk of this setting, we encountered a problem. The problem was that the program kept on crashing whenever we ran this setting. We ran it multiple times, but the program simply kept on crashing. We could not figure out why it kept on crashing but it was likely due to the amount of light source (from the spooky chandeliers) that were present.
Therefore, we had to create a different setting that was relatively close to the one that we had previously created, using other prefabs, lights, and materials. Max and I discussed again what kind of setting we wanted our project to be, and decided that we wanted to pursue a darkish-mysterious mood.
We agreed on the fact that the large pot would be our main object in the scene, as the user has to find the ingredients in different parts of the room, and put it in the pot in order to create the antidote. Max worked on creating the script which allows the user to pick up the ingredients and put them into the pot.
The following videos are some user testing examples of our first stage project:
Detoxification User Testing 1
Detoxification User Testing 2
Detoxification User Testing 3
From this user test, we got feedback that there should be some kind of timer (that is represented within an item, such as a sand clock) so that it gives a sense of adrenaline to the user that he/she is in a rush to find the ingredients and make the antidote. Moreover, we were told that there has to be some meaning attached to the ingredients. These ingredients could be the key in answering the question as to why the user is here in the first place. If the user is holding a basket, it signifies that the user is already somewhat familiar with the space. On the other hand, if the user is NOT holding a basket, it signifies that the user is NOT familiar with the space. There are some embedded assumptions in our project and so it evokes curiosity and why for the user. The explanation to these why? questions can also be clarified in the voiceover as part of the pre-story. Another feedback we got was the importance of sound. We were advised that as the time pressure increases (less time), the sound should increase as well.