Initial Idea:
Essential Experience
(Can also be found in: Workshops > Essential Experience)
I began with an Essential Experience based on what experience I want the player to have and ways to achieve this. My initial aim was to create an experience that distracts players from what might be going on in their personal lives and provide them with a method of distraction/escapism. However at the same time provide something playful.
I used my Research to map an experience that does this. In this case it's essential for my experience to have several interactive elements and an objective that player's must work towards.
Player's will have complete control in their environment and because of this, will focus on the experience rather than their negative thoughts/worries. The experience must require their full focus.
In order to capture this essence, it's essential for players to feel as though they are depended on. Whether this is by physical NPC's or part of the narrative. This will encourage players to perform well and therefore focus on winning/progressing. The experience must be visually appealing meaning players will want to interact with their surroundings and feel motivated to discover more of whats around them.
Combining my Research and Essential Experience to create Gameplay Loops for game concepts:
Using my knowledge from the Gameplay Loops Workshop, I created two gameplay loops based on two of my game concepts.
(Can be found in: Workshops>Gameplay Loops.
GAMEPLAY LOOP:
Activity and Risk:
Discover your surroundings, get used to your location. Interact with the different features of the environment. Chance to explore spaceship, interact in space and perform repair tasks in the form of small tasks - Risk causing damage to spaceship if the journey is not handled correctly.
Reward:
Learn controls and be able to transport passengers safely. Avoid incoming asteroids as speed increases and journey becomes progressively harder.
Speed test, a chance for players to beat their previous journey time and rewarded with a place on the leaderboard. Challenge friends.
Opportunity:
Experience different elements of a spaceship/being in space. Experience the perspective of a pilot astronaut.
Player gets a new experience each time they play. Gameplay experience changes - handling the situation differently each time.
Opportunity to beat your previous time, react quicker and compete against friends.
Opportunity to experience some realistic aspects of space, from an astronauts perspective.
Take damage and repair.
After gathering feedback from classmates, I chose to expand this second idea further. This concept meets my initial aim requirements and captures the essence of my essential experience really well. I began by storyboarding the gameplay loop and important aspects of the game:
WHY HAVE I CHOSEN THIS CONCEPT?
I have chosen this concept because it relates the best to my essential experience. Players are given the main role onboard the Spacecraft and must perform to the best of their ability to get the best result possible. This idea requires full player focus through multitasking to transport their passengers safely. Players must pay attention to their surroundings to prevent damage to their spacecraft through a range of different interactions. Using my theme research I can develop these interactions to immerse players into the environment and create a realistic experience. The interactions will be relevant to the games theme and make the player feel like they really have been given the role of a Pilot Astronaut.
WHY VIRTUAL REALITY?
In terms of my Essential Experience, Virtual Reality allows me to provide players with an immersive virtual 3D environment. The use of surround sound, room-scale boundaries and other interactive elements combined provide players with a life-like experience.
My aim was to design a concept which acts as a distraction method and provides escapism for those that suffer with anxiety, as well as being playful/fun. I intended for players to become part of the experience and provide them with a space that disconnects them from reality, rather than being sat stationary in front of a screen for hours. Furthermore, Virtual Reality encourages physical activity which also benefits mental health.
Players will be able to control the spacecraft as if they are there. Rather than using a normal playstation controller, they will be able to use hand gestures/actions to interact with the control panel and other features around them, physically. Curiosity will lead them around the spacecraft where they'll make discoveries and experience an environment they never have (or ever will) before. The use of Haptic Feedback & Audio will also make the experience much more immersive. To avoid players standing still (stationary) during gameplay I will implement a playful way to carry out repair tasks which requires them to move around/take advantage of their space.
WHY SPACE?
LINKING MY ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE TO MY IDEA:
My game concept was an idea formed by the aspects of my essential experience.
In order to achieve the immersive experience I intended, I chose Space to be the theme of the experience. Space is essentially an 'environment' we hear about, however will never get to experience ourselves.
Because of this we are intrigued as to how things work and what it feels like to be there, encouraging players to interact with things they gravitate towards out of interest and curiosity.
This links to the Lens of Projection, providing players with something they'd like to do in real life but can't. Workshops>Refining the Experience.
As well as this the theme will excite users and keep players motivated throughout the experience. There are many essential protocols/procedures Astronauts must follow in Space which I will incorporate within the experience.
PURPOSE OF THE GAME & JUSTIFYING MY CHOSEN THEME:
This offers players the opportunity to experience space for the first time as well as from a different perspective.
I intend for players to interact with their surroundings out of curiosity and interest. The environment will visually appeal to users as well as encouraging them to do so.
Sound and visuals have a huge impact on achieving an immersive experience. I can use audio to achieve a representation of space that makes players feel like they are really there.
Players will play from the perspective of a Pilot-Astronaut, meaning they have been given the responsibility to control the ship safely until their destination is reached. This provides players with an objective they must work towards and complete successfully. Players will also be depended on by crew, encouraging full player focus in order to perform well. The multitasking element is intended to take control of the players minds, as they'll have a lot to do during a short period of time. Repairs are then required to fix any damage caused to your ship. Repairs will take place in a different part of the ship, taking advantage of the 'room-scale' option in VR, allowing them to move around and require different interactions.
As well as this main gameplay, I would like players to immerse themselves into the experience by becoming familiar with their surroundings. Players will be able to discover their reasoning for being there, by exploring the spaceship, the different rooms around them, talking with crew and learning the different control functions.
Game Theme Research can be found in:
Next steps:
I developed my concept further by looking into the possibilities in Virtual Reality.
My intentions were to have players fully immersed in an environment that they are captivated by and will interact with out of curiosity. My research led me to find ways of doing so as well as carrying out research surveys.
Virtual Reality also encourages physical activity, which ties in with my initial aim - to impact ones mental and physical health.
(Research can be found in: