REFLECTION:

- What's on my mind :)

GAMEPLAY:

I have attempted throughout to not overcomplicate interactions or make gameplay too difficult.

The way for me to do this was to reduce the losing conditions but also still have players feel the pressure of each required task and motivate them to perform well.

Players follow astronaut procedures throughout which If they don't follow, have consequences. These are hazards around the spacecraft which can cause more damage. This gives them a realistic interpretation of their role as Pilot Astronaut. I want Players to feel like they are responsible for every part of the experience, essentially making them feel like the main character. Linking back to my essential experience this also makes them feel in control as they are responsible for everything around them.

Being depended on by the Crew constantly also makes players feel as if they are being relied on, encouraging them to perform well and really focus in order to do so.

INTERACTIONS:

I am reflecting on this aspect of my game because it is by far the most difficult! During development I have discovered that there are endless possibilities in VR - This made it hard for me to develop each one and establish each scenario or outcome of a huge number of interactions.

I had to overcome this by focusing on the main ones which were most relevant to my gameplay. I tried my best to establish what happens at each stage by being clear and precise - I have done this through tables/columns instead of lots of detailed text.

LIMITATIONS:

Choosing Virtual Reality as my Platform was a bold choice! Only during development did I realise the amount of work required to successfully design something like this however, as it's an area I am really interested in I was determined to carry on and develop the experience further.

There is a lot to consider when designing a VR game so I am aware I have missed minor details throughout but I focused mainly on successfully achieving an immersive experience for players, taking into consideration elements such as Sound to do this. I also focused mainly on the interactions and taking advantage of their virtual space.

My intentions are to provide players with an experience where they are the main character. They are in control of their environment but they are also being relied on by their Crew. They feel pressured because of this new responsibility and they have to focus in order to perform well!

FOR NEXT TIME:

The Pandemic had quite the effect on my motivation but nonetheless I was able to provide what was required of me.

However next time there's definitely more I would have done.

A main example of this is Prototyping and Testing. I already did a lot of prototyping and evaluating this, but it would have been great to test on people in the studio and gather opinions from a larger group of people. Due to the conditions, with lack of resources and inaccessibility I had to make do with what I had.

Although, I was still able to produce the prototypes I needed and these outline the main elements of gameplay during my experience.

Next time, provided the circumstances allow me, I'd definitely do some more user testing and do this by using experiments in VR. I will next time hopefully develop some 3D animations or models which can be tested in a VR headset and from this more improvement or development can be made.

I did my best to provide visuals, mock-ups and prototype videos to explain my concept clearly, focusing on the main elements of the experience.

PHOTOGAMMETRY -

I was aware of the software and had the intention of using it to model assets within my game, however I stuck to traditional methods because this was easiest for me and I struggled to find a free software for MacOS!