Team 2-1 VRDD (VR Design Document)

1. Title & basic info

horizonTitle:

Beyond the Horizon

Team members:

Jayson Tram (project manager, programmer)

Yuan Xiao (modeller, multi-purpose worker)

Angela Lee (Visual designer)

Length:

10 minutes for now

Intended audience:

Young adults that are over 20, preferably someone who recently experienced loss

2. Razor

Our VR experience will create new perspectives of hope and connections, by immersing the user into the role of a man who has lost someone dear.

3. Slogan

Embrace your past, find your way - take a step into the current day.

4. Vision statement & top level summary of your project idea

Step into a deeply immersive VR narrative in Beyond the Horizon, where every choice and interaction shapes a personal journey of loss, connection, and healing. After a tragic accident that takes the life of his best friend, the protagonist falls into grief and isolation. One day, he receives a phone call from his mother—not a direct order, but a gentle nudge, a reminder that life still moves forward. Encouraged by her words, he steps outside for the first time in weeks, and he goes to an animal shelter or street, where he meets a dog that changes everything.

Through interactive storytelling, gaze-based mechanics, and dynamic environmental changes, players will forge an emotional bond with their new companion. Beyond the Horizon is not just a story—it is an embodied experience of resilience and love, culminating in a powerful transformation as the protagonist finds the strength to move forward, learning that healing often comes in unexpected forms.

5. Project Goals & Desired User Experience

Project Goals:

Beyond the Horizon’s goal is to take players on an emotional journey of loss, connection, and healing through an immersive virtual reality experience. Players will take on the role of a protagonist struggling with grief after the death of a close friend in a car crash. As they navigate through sorrow, they will form a deep emotional connection with a newly adopted dog, an unexpected yet powerful source of healing.

Guide the player through an emotional arc of sorrow, hope, and eventual growth, using visual and sound design to deeply immerse them in the protagonist’s experience.
Provide interactive choices and explorations that allow the player to feel agency over their journey, such as deciding how to interact with the dog or when to venture outside.
Use dynamic environmental storytelling—such as changes in lighting, weather, and furniture organization—to visually represent the protagonist’s mental state.

Target Audience:

Young adults of all genders, no prior VR experiences needed, preferably interested in emotional experiences related to personal connections and bonds

Desired User Experience:

We want players to feel the emotional weight of grief, hope, and healing as they progress through Beyond the Horizon.

Beginning: Players start in a dim, cluttered room, mirroring the protagonist’s depression. The phone call from his mother is subtle, not an outright command, but a small push to go outside.
Mid-Game: Players interact with the dog in small ways—choosing to pet it, feed it, take it for a walk—all of which contribute to the protagonist’s emotional healing.
Ending: The game culminates in a symbolic moment where the protagonist stands in a sunlit park, watching his dog play, finally feeling a sense of acceptance and renewal.

By the end, users should feel a renewed perspective on grief, realizing that healing doesn’t mean erase loss or the past, but rather allows one to move forward with love and new ways.

After the experience, users should leave with a renewed perspective on healing and connection, feeling inspired to embrace change and cherish their relationships, and ultimately growth and release.

VR's unique affordances will create a strong sense of presence, immersing players in this touching storytelling journey as they explore and interact throughout the game.

Impact and Transformation:

We believe Beyond the Horizon can change how players perceive grief and emotional healing. It can influence players' views on emotion, helping them find the motivation to move forward in the face of loss, and fosters empathy and a deeper understanding of the transformative power of connection. By placing the user in the shoes of the protagonist, it creates a space for reflection on how individuals deal with grief and find hope in new relationships.

We will measure impact through pre- and post-experience surveys, focusing on emotional resonance, empathy, and shifts in users' perspectives on topics of grief and connection. Additionally, engagement metrics such as time spent in key scenes, interactions with meaningful objects, and Analyze gaze behavior, observing how players engage with emotionally significant objects (e.g., the protagonist’s late friend’s belongings, the dog).

Team Motivation:

After discussing with each other, we found out that we are passionate about the theme of redemption, mental issues, and prefer a wholesome story with happy ending. Each of our media inspirations share similar themes of loss and hope, themes we care deeply about, so we decided to make a project that has all these elements.

Relation to course design challenge:
The core design challenge in this course centers on harnessing the transformative potential of virtual reality to create meaningful user experiences. Beyond the Horizon addresses this by immersing users in an emotive journey of grief, healing, and personal growth.

Transformative Potential: Through the embodied perspective and multisensory cues in VR, players not only witness the protagonist’s emotional arc but also actively participate in it. This fosters deeper empathy and encourages self-reflection on themes such as loss, hope, and reconnection.
Emotional Engagement: Our mechanics (e.g., rescuing the dog, exploring symbolic items) are built to evoke strong emotional responses, demonstrating how VR can move beyond entertainment to facilitate personal reflection or catharsis.

6. Design & Implementation

Core Mechanics:

Navigation: First-person movement, player uses controller to walk and look around, as well as interacting with objects in front of them.

Interactions: Players interact with key objects (photo, swim tube, mirror) that trigger memories, reflections, and emotional insights.

Character Interaction: The dog will respond to player actions—feeding, petting, and calling it over—deepening the bond and driving emotional progression.

Pivotal Actions: The climax requires players to overcome fear and rescue the dog, symbolizing emotional growth.

Visual Style & Aesthetics:

Visual Style: Semi-realistic with a focus on soft lighting, muted colors, and atmospheric depth to create a dreamlike yet grounded experience.

Visual references: something similar to this, but instead of a young protagonist its a depressed dude in maybe 30s.

Mood: A balance of melancholy and warmth, the world will feel lonely at first but become more vibrant as the protagonist heals.

Sound Design:

We will keep music to a minimum (if at all) throughout most of the story, and only make music apparent in the final scene, using a peaceful and hopeful track. It will add to the impact of opening up and realizing the new hope.

Gentle wind, rustling leaves, and distant waves to set the mood.
The dog’s breathing, footsteps, and occasional barks to reinforce presence and connection

Voiceovers: Minimal but impactful, internal monologues and the mother’s phone call will guide the player’s emotional journey.

Rescue Scene Audio: Dramatic shift in sound design—heartbeat thumping, muffled underwater sounds—to heighten emotional tension.

Technical Implementation:

Designed for Meta Quest 2

We will be using Unity to create the experience, and blender for any custom made assets.

Only one of us can get VR working on our personal computers, so we will have to work efficiently.

Need to get controller

We don't have a picture but our physical setup looks something like this

7. Iterative Development & User Testing

Agile Development Process:

Kanban would likely be the best agile approach, with some elements of Scrum to keep development structured but flexible

1. Task Breakdown & Workflow (Kanban Board Approach)

Use Trello to create a Kanban board with columns like:
- Backlog (ideas, unassigned tasks)
- To Do (ready for development)
- In Progress (currently being worked on)
- Review/Testing (awaiting feedback, playtesting)
- Done (completed and integrated)
Each team member picks tasks based on their skills (e.g., 3D modeling, programming, concept art).

2. Prioritizing Features (MoSCoW Method)

Must-have: Core mechanics (VR interactions, navigation, main assets)
Should-have: Secondary mechanics (polishing animations, extra models)
Could-have: Extra visual effects, minor environmental details
Won’t-have (for now): Non-essential mechanics that may be revisited later

3. Feedback & Iteration (Scrum-Lite Approach)

Weekly check-ins: Short meetings (in person or online) to review progress, adjust priorities, and remove blockers.
User testing every 2-3 weeks: Gather feedback early by having others try the VR experience and report usability issues.
End-of-cycle review: Assess what worked, adjust the pipeline, and iterate.

User Testing Plan, Goals and Outcomes, and Critique/Feedback analysis:

1. Goals, Questions, and Hypotheses

Goals:

Validate whether the emotional theme of healing is effectively conveyed through interaction with the dog
Assess the intuitiveness and comfort of user interactions in VR
Identify any usability or motion sickness issues
Evaluate the narrative impact and player engagement

Questions:

Does the environmental design successfully evoke emotional transitions (e.g., from depression to hope)?
Are movement and interaction mechanics intuitive and comfortable?
Do users form a meaningful emotional connection with the dog character?
Are there any discomfort issues, such as motion sickness?
Is the story effectively communicated without heavy use of text or narration?

Hypotheses:

H1: Players will develop a strong emotional bond with the dog through responsive interactions and animations
H2: Lighting and color shifts will effectively create immersive emotional environments
H3: Players will understand how to interact with objects and characters without explicit tutorials
H4: Movement mechanics may cause minor discomfort if not optimized
H5: The presence of the dog will enhance the player's emotional comfort and immersion

2. Methods

User Testing Approach:

Iteration 1: Basic Interaction Testing
- Task: Users will navigate the environment, interact with the dog (e.g., petting, following commands), and complete simple tasks.
- Observations: Ease of interaction, player engagement, any confusion or frustration.
- Questions (Post-Test): What felt intuitive? What was confusing? Did you feel connected to the dog? Do you feel this is a transformative experience for better mentality?
Iteration 2: Emotional & Narrative Testing
- Task: Users will complete a short guided sequence where the dog reacts to their actions.
- Observations: Emotional responses, level of engagement with the story elements.
- Questions: How did the experience make you feel? What moments stood out emotionally?
Iteration 3: Showcase-Ready Testing
- Task: Users will experience the near-final version with improved interactions, refined visuals, and adjusted mechanics.
- Observations: Any remaining usability issues, motion sickness, overall user satisfaction.
- Questions: Did anything feel unnatural? How was your overall comfort level? Would you play this again?

3. Results

Iteration 1 Findings:

Confirmed Hypotheses: Users intuitively interacted with the dog, and the movement system was mostly well-received.
Challenges: Some struggled with object interaction due to unclear affordances.
Next Steps: Improve visual and auditory feedback for interactions, adjust locomotion settings for smoother movement.

Iteration 2 Findings:

Confirmed Hypotheses: Players felt emotionally engaged with the dog when it reacted dynamically.
Challenges: Some users desired more guidance to understand their objectives.
Next Steps: Introduce subtle environmental cues and animations to guide players organically.

Iteration 3 Findings:

Confirmed Hypotheses: Users found the experience immersive, and most motion sickness concerns were resolved.
Challenges: Some testers suggested additional animations for the dog to enhance realism.
Next Steps: Final refinements to animations, additional sound design for emotional depth.

4. Meta-Reflection & Insights

Surprises: Users were more receptive to environmental storytelling than anticipated, requiring fewer explicit instructions.
Challenges: Ensuring balance between player freedom and structured progression without breaking immersion.
Unexpected Findings: Some users preferred slower movement speeds, associating it with a more meditative experience.
Key Takeaways:
- The emotional bond with the dog is a major strength—lean further into this by refining animations and reactions.
- Fine-tuning interaction mechanics is crucial to maintaining immersion and preventing frustration.
- Iterative user testing is invaluable for catching subtle design flaws that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Future Improvements:

Introduce additional interaction animations for the dog to increase its expressiveness.
Further refine locomotion mechanics to maximize user comfort.
Conduct one last mini-test before the final showcase to verify final adjustments.

Immerstant name: Junniel Abeto

Date: week 11 lab

Photo(s)/screenshots of VR prototype

No screenshot