For my independent learning for VR storytelling I learned how to set up a Unity project and add interactivity using the HTC Vive. My original goal was to create a combat simulator (which perhaps I can still do in the future) but also to learn how to not only step inside your world / project in the Vive but also interact with it using hand controllers. The most useful tutorials I found included an article written by Dario Laverde, an actual developer for HTC. This article, written on Medium, first...
What did you set out to do? For my final project I worked with Ben Kreimer, a fellow at the Buzzfeed Open Lab. He created 3D models of the Antiochia ad Cragum Archaeological Research Site in Turkey. My task was to put the models into virtual reality using the HTC Vive. I placed audio narration around 'hotspots' which users can teleport to using the HTC Vive controller's trigger for learning about the different recreations. What did you learn as you began working on it? There are a few things that I...
Creating and fighting an Animated Character in the HTC Vive using Playmaker in Unity – Assignment 6 / 7
by Evan Jenkins
- March 22
- in
In this post I won't go over how to animate a character in Unity or the basics of Playmaker. Those can be found here in a tutorial by Professor Dan Pachecho. However I did want to touch on the subject of Global Variables, which are very important to this construction. Basically, a global variable can be called by any object's FSM and whatever is stored in the variable is shared throughout the scene. This allows you to store values such as Health or distance and call them from any object....
Assignment 5 – First Unity Scene: HTC Vive and Basic Combat
- February 24
- in
For my first Unity scene I created a small medieval scene with the outside of a house and a small castle corridor. I ported it into the HTC Vive and scripted a simple melee system that works with the hand controllers. Things that worked: For the most part, creating the actual scene in Unity was simple enough. I adjusted terrain and created a crater in which my scene took place so the player doesn't venture too far outside the scene. I found some free assets from the store...
Fixed Teleporting with the Vive in Unity
- February 22
- in
Having successfully ported my Unity project to the HTC Vive I wanted to give my users locomotion, so they aren't stuck in one 10 ft by 10 ft square. The SteamVR Unity Plugin comes with a script called 'Steam VR_Teleporter' and that requires a script called 'Steam VR_Tracked Controller', both of which have to be assigned to each controller (or just the one you want people to teleport with.) Sounds simple enough. It wasn't. Unfortunately there is an error with the teleporter script that basically makes it unusable without modification, and there are...
Assignment 3 / 4 – Royal Flush
- February 22
- in
Our 360° Short Film - Royal Flush Kyle Ott https://twitter.com/ott_kyle MaryMargaret Treinin https://twitter.com/MargotGearSolid Matthew Kaufax https://twitter.com/NCCKaufax Evan Jenkins https://twitter.com/projectsevan Shot on 6 GoPro Hero Black Editions, with a custom 3D Printed Rig. Special Thanks to Professors Ken Harper (https://twitter.com/profkenharper) and Dan Pacheco (https://twitter.com/pachecod), leading Journalism Innovation.
Assignment 2 – Murder Mystery
- February 1
- in
For the first 360 video assignment my idea is a new take on a "murder mystery" scenario. The short video would take place in a large lobby or common room of a building such as a dorm, library, or cafeteria. There will be multiple characters (3 or 4) whose actions the viewer is tasked with following. At the end of the film / video a third party is found dead. The viewers goal is to figure out which character caused the murder, and would likely have to view the scene multiple...
In the VR Storytelling class this past Wednesday I tried experiences on the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR, I also watched others try these experiences. One of the big things that stood out to me was the amount of variation in how motion sick people felt with the different devices and with different applications. Some classmates could only take 20 or 30 seconds before mentioning dizziness, others could go for more extended periods. One of the discussions I’ve read was the idea of having a static object or UI...