I used the Google Cardboard to view a VR 360 short movie called “Asteroids!” by baobab. In this short movie, the user is virtually placed in the center of a spaceship and depending on the view, the user can see the outside (space) from the large window, or the user can see the interior of the spaceship. There is a storyline within this six-minute clip, which starts off with a peaceful scene, and then the characters face an emergency situation, one of the characters (the mom?) faces death but regains life, and the family is back to their happy norm.
The crucial difference of this 360 video from any other one-side video is that the user is the one who chooses which part of the scene he/she decides to watch. For example, when five dirt pieces hit the window of the spaceship, it was up to the user (in this case, myself) to turn around and see what had hit the window. What I mean by this is that when I was watching this scene, I was looking at the interaction of the three characters facing the interior of the ship. Suddenly, I heard a sound of something hitting the window, and so I turned around with my VR headset and saw that five pieces of green dirt had hit the window. In a sense, I turned around instantaneously when I head that sound out of curiosity, but some user may not even bother turning around, which would mean that that user will not witness that five green dirt on the window.
At times when I was watching this video, I was lost as to where the action was taking place. For example, there would be an action taking place at a certain location and then it would jump to a different location. Those times, I had to do a 360 turn around to figure out where the next scene was taking place. I was watching this video in my room on my bed and so it was easy for me to do a 360-degree turn. However, if I had been watching this video in a smaller and limited space, my actions would have been different. Therefore, I realized that I must secure a free 360-degree space before watching or doing any 360 VR or AR experience.
1.Project Description: describe the space you created and the identity you used to guide the design.
For my space that I created, I used several different external assets and Kaplan’s GRE words. I am interested in how VR can be utilized in improving educational learning, and thus I decided to play around with the space that I made in order to create a small prototype of how learning vocabulary can be made easier by placing various GRE words around the space, in accordance to their word groups.
For my space that I created, I used several different external assets and Kaplan’s GRE words. I am interested in how VR can be utilized in improving educational learning, and thus I decided to play around with the space that I made in order to create a small prototype of how learning vocabulary can be made easier by placing various GRE words around the space, in accordance to their word groups.
I decided to use the identity of “abandoned” in order to guide the design. I choose the colors, assets, and texture so that they match the “abandoned” identity. I chose buildings that had somewhat a mysterious feel, rather than any building with a majestic, luxurious-looking façade. In order to create the “abandoned” identity, I wanted to mix nature and human-built objects, and thus, I have placed various rocks and cliffs between the tower and the dome. This is because my image of “abandoned” is usually at the middle ground of nature and man-made, or perhaps, nature is gradually taking over the man-made objects because the objects have been left abandoned for a long period of time.
However, the sense of “abandoned” does not necessary mean that the place is completely dead. Therefore, I placed bushes that are being blown by the wind, and I made the sky color the typical sky color – nothing dark or grey.
2. Process and Implementation: discuss how you built the scene within the development environment and choices you made to stage the space for this particular mode of viewing.
What design decisions did you make to represent the identity (emotion, feeling, mood) and to aim toward the desired effect of it being an alternate world? What guided your composition of the areas in view and what effect were you hoping it might have on the viewer? Feel free to share images or sketches of visual inspiration or reference if you used them.
In order to express the identity of “abandoned” in my design, I decided to unify my scene with dark, gloomy colors for the man-made objects, such as the buildings, tower, and the dome. I accumulated textures that had mostly black, grey, and dark colors so in order to create a mysterious and lonely mood. Even for one building which has a light blue color, there is something about the ratchet texture that makes even the light blue color show its dark side.
I used the below images when brainstorming my idea.
Abandoned Image 1
Abandoned Image 2
I also chose GRE words which have negative connotations in order to match the identity and the mood of the alternative space that I created.
The following are the word groups that I chose to place in the space:
As much I want the user to understand and visually memorize the GRE words, I want the user to feel like they are in an abandoned town that is separated from the rest of the world. However, I did not want the user to feel as if they are in a fictional world, and thus I placed objects that are familiar in real life, yet with a feeling of far and distant.
3. Reflection/Evaluation: This should discuss your expectations and goals in the context of the what you felt was achieved with the finished piece.
In the beginning, I was going to compress different scenes with different moods which matched accordingly to the GRE word group. For example, for the GRE word group which roughly all meant “delighted,” I was going to create part of the scene which showed that mood. However, I realized that creating multiple scenes each with different moods was too complicated. Not only that, mixing moods in one space was not a good idea as it would confuse the user. Therefore, I decided to choose to the “abandoned” identity, and bring in various GRE words that had had negative and pessimistic connotations.
If I look at the scene that I have created from the scene view, it seems as if the space is small and enclosed. However, when looking from the actual game view, the scene seems as if it has so much to it. Therefore, I am quite satisfied with the scene that I have created because it fulfills the purpose of trying to help the user visually memorize the GRE words using location sensing.
I would say that one of the challenges I faced in this project was placing the GRE words in the optimal location. Because the GRE words are 2D, whereas everything else is 3D, I had to maneuver the GRE words in a way that they seem as if they are stuck to the building or the rock. It took a quite a bit of time to adjust each and every word because I was trying to place a 2D object with the 3D objects.
For my first project, I would like to create a “Word World,” which is an environment made up of words. I was recently reading a book, which talked about using various senses to memorize new vocabulary, facts, and information. For example, when trying to memorize a new word, let’s say, “table,” by visualizing the actual object and associate it with the word “table” allow the human brain to remember the word for a longer term.
I’ve always struggled in memorizing new vocabulary, whether that was SAT vocabulary or words in an unfamiliar language. Currently, I am trying to memorize new vocabulary for the GRE, and so I wanted to create this environment through the use of virtual worlds.
I got my idea from the following portion of the article, The Science of Memory: Top 10 Proven Techniques to Remember More and Learn Faster by Melanie Pinola:
5. Create a Memory Palace
“The number one technique that we top memory athletes use is still and will always be the memory palace. If someone were to learn one thing, it should be that.”- Nelson Dellis, four-time USA Memory Champion
The memory palace is a mnemonic device that’s as tried-and-true as it gets–and deserves a section of its own. Invented by orators in ancient Roman and Greek times, the memory palace (or mind palace or “method of loci”) technique is both effective and enjoyable to use, whether you’re trying to remember a speech you have to give, details of a case you’re working on (a la Sherlock Holmes), or your grocery list. In fact, four-time USA Memory Champion Nelson Dellis–who claims to have an average memory–says that “The number one technique that we top memory athletes use is still and will always be the memory palace. If someone were to learn one thing, it should be that.”
With the memory palace technique, you associate a location you’re familiar with–such as your apartment, the block you grew up on, or the route you take to work or school–with the items you’re trying to remember. It works because you’re visually pegging (or “placing”) representations of what you want to remember in places you already have strong memories of.
To use the memory palace technique:
Imagine yourself standing your memory palace. Your home is a great one to start with, even if it’s not a palace.
Mentally walk through this palace noticing distinctive features you can use to store things you want to remember. Each stop on that path is a “loci” you can peg the idea or object to. For example, your front door might be one loci, the table in your foyer a second loci, a lamp in your living room another. Commit those features to memory so when you think of your palace, the route and objects in it will be imprinted in your mind.
Associate what you need to remember with the loci in your palace. If you had a grocery list, for example, at the front door you could picture milk flooding over the door from the inside, like a waterfall of milk. Then you get to the foyer and the table is buckling under the weight of all the chocolate chip cookies stacked on it to the ceiling. And instead of a lightbulb in your living room lamp, you see fluorescent yellow bananas.
Here’s a video from 2016 World Memory Championship winner Alex Mullen describing in great detail how to “attach” words to objects and locations in with the memory palace technique. You’ll find yourself remembering these 20 words long after you watch the video:
I am a big fan of Tokyo Disney Sea. But, that doesn’t necessary mean that I’m a Disney fan. I like theme parks, especially Tokyo Disney Sea. The first time I visited Tokyo Disney Sea was when I was in 2nd grade. I still remember the excitement I felt when going there. I had heard about it but had never been there before.
Tokyo Disney Sea is separated into different sections with different themes. There is the section that is based off of the United States, the “Arabian” section, the mysterious section, and so on. My all-time favorite has been the “Arabian” section, because I like the atmosphere of that area. I wouldn’t call it authentic because there is an Indian curry restaurant in that area, and, more importantly, it is difficult to define what “Arabian” is. But, there is something special about that area which has the Aladdin attraction as its main venue. It takes me so far from the reality in Japan that it makes me feel as if I teleported to a different country.
The main reason why I like Tokyo Disney Sea is because it takes me away from the current reality, and provides an escape from my daily life. In a sense, I get to feel like a different person because I am removed from the tall skyscrapers and crowded trains. Also, I go to Tokyo Disney Sea to enjoy, and thus, when I have already completed work or don’t have urgent work to complete. Therefore, it is not only the space itself that I like, but also the mentality I go with to that space.
Because Tokyo Disney Sea is in Tokyo and I live in Osaka, I cannot go to Tokyo Disney Sea as frequently as I want to. I think that that makes it even more special. From Tokyo to Osaka, it takes about an hour via airplane, two hours and a half via Shinkansen (bullet train), or overnight via bus. Therefore, it is close, in a sense that it is in the same country, but far in terms of time and economic barriers. This close-yet-far location also adds on to making Tokyo Disney Sea my favorite environment/space/place/location.
