Connected-disconnected
Hyungin Choi
Advisor: Sharon De La Cruz
A study of an experiential structure that intertwines active, passive, and cognitive interactions between players under the theme "Connected-Disconnected," utilizing the characteristics of interfaces from three different media: VR, 3D games, and text-based games.
Abstract
"Connected-Disconnected" is an interactive experience between different media where user choices shape multiple endings, exploring three human facets. There are three characters and three places, and these places reflect the faces that humans have. The first, a dark pond, symbolizes the deep inner mind, where thoughts swirl unseen and the players are required to balance there. The second, a forest with many paths, represents paths of thought in the outer world, full of possibilities. The third, a bustling café, mirrors the social sphere, filled with the chatter of others and they can distract you. Each place tells its own story, weaving together the complexities of human emotion and interaction. Players would be immersed in those stories by the voices, visuals, and mysterious atmosphere in the virtual spaces. The game is designed for players to get closer to different places when they choose to follow clues of peculiar phenomena or unfamiliar sounds, rather than staying familiar with their current environment. As they choose which way to head, they create different stories, and as they get closer to the other spaces, they can sense through sound or visual cues.
Three Media, Three Players: Twine-3D world in the Forest-VR in the pond
As an ideal plan, in terms of interactive experience design, the multiplayer form seemed the most fit. As a controller, the forest player using a gamepad can influence other players in VR medium depending on what choices they make. VR players just stand and look around, feeling the changes caused by the controller with no control interface to create a passive interactive experience. When they try to reach out with their hands, they feel the fabric wall as a tactile interface. By feeling this tactile wall physically, they recognize the spatial limit that they can't move much, which implies being in a well of deep inner space. Also, they can hear sounds from the forest and cafe. The sounds are overlapped to create an atmosphere between time and space.
Technical Details
Twine, Unreal Engine.