Virtual Reality
Scale
Scale is an experience developed jointly by myself and James Picot. With this piece we aim to explore different perspectives through changing and varied environments, using the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset to further enhance this experience. This allows the player to experience our worlds in an entirely new way, with a better sense of scale, presence and immersion.
The twist on this, however, is that all of Scale's environments are modeled after objects that physically exist right in front of the audience as they walk through the world - and arranged in the exact same way both inside and outside of the Rift. What we have acheived with this, effectively, is an experience based on becoming small, but still experiencing the world as it is. The audience is invited to view everyday objects and familiar environments from an entirely new perspective - that of the small.
This also serves to increase immersion by using models and environments that are familiar to the player. We have even modeled a copy of the BCT studio where the demonstration will be situated in order to facilitate a seamless transition between worlds. Players will put on the Oculus Rift, and find themselves sitting in the exact same position that they were before entering the simulated environment.
Our project was officially showcased at an open night in the BCT Studio on the 19th of June (Level 11, WG Building, AUT City Campus) where the audience was able to experience Scale as it was originally intended - with the game environment sitting right in front of them.
I have also made my formal exegesis for this project available to read, which you can view here.