Oops, I dropped my keys

Description:

I was part of a two-person team developing a VR game for the 2021 Global Game Jam titled 'Lost & Found.' In our game, players explore a spaceship to locate key cards needed to return home. My role was diverse: I handled VR gameplay and controls development, designed user interactions for intuitive item usage, and crafted puzzles involving button sequences and switches. We used Unity along with the XR Interaction Toolkit, which meant I had to quickly grasp VR development techniques.

One of the biggest challenges was creating my first VR game and mastering the Unity XR toolkit. To tackle this, I applied UX design principles, like using highlighted outlines for interactive items and subtle shadows to guide item placements.

Given the time constraints of the game jam, we conducted limited user testing and relied mainly on our own playtesting to refine the game. This approach led to significant adjustments, such as fine-tuning VR controller responses to better handle precise movements.  Our game received positive feedback and even got featured in an article by the hosts at USC. This project was a tremendous learning experience, teaching me invaluable skills in VR game development and the art of rapid prototyping under pressure.

Credits:

Sean Maguire

Stephen Lane

Additional Help:

Sean Thompson