Save 10% off ANY FITC event with discount code 'slideshare' See our upcoming events at www.fitc.ca OVERVIEW 2014 is the year that virtual reality will go from a bad memory from the 90s to the beginning of a new way to experience content. Already the Oculus Rift has started to transform several industries with its ability to transport you to a completely interactive virtual space. As a designer and/or developer, this transformation will change the way you look at your work. The first time you build something on the screen and then project yourself into your own creation, you quickly feel a sense of wonder and excitement from experiencing content in a way you never expected. You will also realize that many things that work well with a typical mouse, keyboard and computer screen work considerably different in the virtual world. Sharing these experiences with Stephan will help you to understand how to leverage what works in virtual reality and what to avoid so your virtual experiences will be effective at immersing users in your virtual creations. Presented at FITC Toronto 2014 on April 27-29, 2014 More info at www.FITC.ca

1. Stephan Tanguay
Technical Lead / User Experience Designer / Unity3D Game Designer
!
info@call2action.ca

2. Oculus Rift
Taking you somewhere new

3. What is the Oculus Rift and why it rocks?!
• Immersive stereoscopic 3D
environment that extends
beyond your peripheral vision
• Ultra-low latency 360° head
tracking, allowing you to
seamlessly look around the
virtual world just as you would
in real life

4. What is the Oculus Rift and why it rocks?!
• Engine integration ( Unity3D & UDK )

5. What is the Oculus Rift and why it rocks?!
• Cutting Edge, lightweight and affordable

6. What is the Oculus Rift and why it rocks?!
Watching people on the rift creates it’s own buzz!

7. How to design for the Oculus Rift
Design for the strengths
• Incredible sense of presence
• The ability to visually explore the virtual world
• A sense of scale and distance that would normally be
impossible
• Natural feeling experience

8. How to design for the Oculus Rift
Know the limitations
• No position tracking yet
• The developer edition is low resolution
• Controls must feel natural
• Can be disorientating

9. How to design for the Oculus Rift
Design for the limitations
• Great standing / sitting simulator… but walking is another story
• Create a natural metaphor / anchor in the real world like being
in a vehicle that provides orientation
• 2D user interfaces are awkward at best, design interfaces into
the environment as much as possible, dashboards, smart
phones provide a place to put some of these conventional
elements
• Hands off the keyboard if possible, this stops the sense of
immersion

10. How to design for the Oculus Rift
Motions to Avoid
• Avoid vertical acceleration
• Avoid tilting or flipping the horizon
• Avoid high speed impacts
• Avoid dramatic changes in velocity
• Be aware of the inner ear ^_^

11. Examples of what works well
• F1 Redbull 360 Video

12. 360 Video
What about video?
• Several new systems allow 360 3D video
• Realtime 360 cameras
• File size is gonna be huge
• Allows for real time or experiences that are too costly to
reproduce by creating 3D assets

13. Examples of what works well
• Driving / Vehicle simulations

14. Examples of what works well
• On Rails Narratives

15. Examples of what works well
• Exploration , Narratives, Adventure Games

16. Examples of what works well
• Horror

17. Working with the Oculus Rift
Walk through in Unity3D
• Download the Oculus SDK - Unity 4 Pro Integration from
oculusvr.com
• OVR Camera Controller
• OVR Player Controller

18. Working with the Oculus Rift
My Experiences So Far
• Very easy to retrofit games
• Quick to add to new projects
• Takes time to build experiences that feel natural
• Maintain as high a frame rate as possible 60-80/fps
• Rethink sky boxes as default systems will not be stereo 3D
• Be very careful using any billboard sprites, for example grass

19. Things I have been working on

20. Things I have been working on

21. Things I have been working on

22. What’s Next !?!?!

23. Crystal Cove : Low Persistence
• 1080p OLED Screen
• image is only displayed for 2-3 milliseconds while the image
and tracking match perfectly and then off for the rest of the
frame

24. Crystal Cove : Position Tracking
• More immersive / natural
• Response time down to 30ms
• Motion tracking requires you face the camera

25. Developer Kit 2
• 75 frames per second
• 2ms persistence
• Response time down to 30ms
• 100° FOV ( DK1 was 110° )
• Motion tracking via camera
• Built in latency tester

26. Consumer Version!
• Possibly 3k resolution
• Possibly 90 Frames Per Second
• Its still a year away
• Position tracking camera included

27. Things I have been working on

28. Things I have been working on

29. Things I have been working on

30. Using the Razer Hydra
360 Position tracking available today
• Enables position tracking with two hand sensors
• Use to give the users a avatar and way to interact with the
world
• An extreme sense of immersion since you can move 360
degrees
• Use one of the sensors to track the head or body
• If you do body tracking it really adds to the experience
• SixSense SDK for Unity3D works on Mac / PC
• Sensitive to the environment ( don’t use next to a electric motor
of any kind )

31. Things I have been working on

32. PrioVR - Coming This Summer
Position tracking available soon
• Pro system tracks 17 points on the body
• No line if site required
• Wireless and completely untethered
• Can move over 20 feet in the real world

33. Thanks For Coming Out!
Questions?