VR Travel Experience

Solo project at NYU Interactive Telecommunications

Instructor: Michelle Cortese

Duration: Sep 2022-Dec 2022

Tool: Figma, Unity, Oculus quest 2

Overview

Concept

Sometimes travel can be troublesome. How might we lower the barrier of travel regardless of time, weather, money, and location? So I want to create a VR travel experience that allows people to go anywhere at any time.

Project Architecture

Outcome

VR prototype developed with unity

Research

Insights from Competitive Study

  • 3D explorable experience is better than 360-angle pictures

  • UI style should be consistent with the immersive experience

  • Physical interaction is more playful and intuitive than UI interaction

Ideation

Brainstorm Ideas

Features plan

Based on the Hedonomic Pyramid, I did the feature plan, which included 4 prototypes.

Prototype

Landing Scene

There is some introduction to the experience. After users click start, they will enter the main scene: travelers’ home.

Scene 1

Traveler’s home

There are 4 destinations for users to choose from.

Scene 2

Washington Monument
Monument Valley
Underwater (Fictional)
Mount Rushmore

Read introduction & grabble items

Users can read the introduction to these destinations and interact with them.

Choose sights and travel immersively

A ‘visit now’ button on the UI panel can navigate users to the sights.

Scene 3

Monument Valley

There’s an underwater scene where users can swim to explore. Users hold the controllers and move forward using their upper arms for swimming.

Underwater Scene

Souvenirs Collection

Players can collect and save souvenirs in inventory, which can be later displayed in the home scene.

Other Feature-1

Take photos with natural gestures

Players can use gestures to take photos.

Other Feature-2

UI Design

My reflection & Take-aways

One of the key takeaways from the project was the importance of user testing and iteration. By consistently receiving feedback and making changes, I was able to refine and improve the overall experience.

My next step is to create a time travel experience.