Summary:
Blueprint was a design-centric prototyping project exploring intuitive virtual interfaces & embodiment in Virtual Reality for Electronic Arts The Sim's 4 Team. The project's goals were to design, develop, and document virtual interfaces that effectively adapted functionality from the Sim's 4 Build Mode into VR to allow for user creation.
Client:
Electronic Arts The Sim's 4 Team
Platform and Technologies:
Virtual Reality | HTC Vive | Unity
Development Cycle:
Four Month Project Semester
Developed by a team of six at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center.
Blueprint Project Video
Design & Documentation Examples:
A core component of Blueprint was to research, design, and iterate virtual interfaces capable of a wide array of functionality, from being able to browse and select from large catalogues of objects, to using more sophisticated creative design tools. These interfaces and interactions needed to be intuitive and allow for fast and easy user creation.
Blueprint developed three unique interface systems [diegetic, non-diegetic, and a hybrid system] that allow the guest to access creative tools and categories of objects.
As designer, I was responsible for prototyping these interfaces, wire-framing UX, and mapping controller interactions. I worked closely with programmers to integrate design changes through development. Multiple iterations of design were informed by weekly play-testing sessions with regular documentation of our findings.
I also compiled comprehensive design document of our approach, development, and findings as part of our deliverable to be handed off to the Sims 4 Team.
3D-Toolbox: A diegetic virtual interface with objects of different room categories within each virtual drawer.
3D-Bubble: A hybrid type interface that allows for the same functionality as the 3D-Toolbox, but without the opening of closing of drawers interaction.
2D-Palate: A non-diegetic two handed interface with point and select interactions.
You can discover more about Blueprint here.