Building an impossible structure in Virtual Reality.
A VR puzzle game where players could walk into an optical illusion
There’s something enticing about the way optical illusions plays with the blind spots of human perception. It is a fun and magical game with our own minds.
Optical illusion in physical space
Many architects attempted to recreate the structures in physical space, but a lot of them had failed because it’s difficult control the way the visitor interact with the piece.
Optical illusion in 2D game
Monument Valley is beautiful mobile game that use the allure of optical illusion to create an interactive game dynamic.
As amazing as the installations and Monument valley are, they still couldn’t quite scratch the itch of actually walking into an illusion, like how Ariadne and Arthur did in Inception.
In the scene, you can hear Arthur says,
“In a dream we can cheat architecture into impossible shapes.”
This led me to think,
What if we bring the optical illusion experience in virtual reality?
Virtual reality is that dream. It is a platform with the best of both worlds. Designers could manipulate the space without any constraints of the physical world; while the 3D perspective could create a more immersive experience.
To test whether VR is in fact a better platform for optical illusion puzzles, I decided to design a game around that theme and test out the logistics.
Prototyping the game in Cinema 4D
The story
How to play
Demo
Proof of concept
I worked with a graduate Architecture student, Mamdouh, to create a proof of concept of the game in Unity. The goal is to show that isometric view could work in a 3D perspective as well.
Testing
We were concerned that players would feel dizzy when the game switch into an isometric view. So we tested looking at the structure though Oculus.
Verdict
It works. It was not nausea inducing at all, but it is slightly weird to see that the surroundings would not change when you look around the space.
Final thoughts
Putting optical illusion structures in a VR space is not as seamless nor satisfying as I thought it would be. Since the illusion could only work at a certain angle, the first person perspective would break into a third-person view, making the experience less immersive. An elaborate effort on animation need to made in order for the optical illusion structure to feel realistic.
Nevertheless, it has been a fun ride. I have learnt so much about manipulating perspectives within a 3D space and the constraints. My next design goal would be learning to design more complex objects with 3D modelling.
If you want to work together, mail me at yucarina@cca.edu. I’m happy to connect!
