Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Tunnel Vision

We wanted to have at least one level where the world moves around the player (think of the original Half Life tram ride). This brought up the question, is it possible to make that experience comfortable in VR?

In theory it's the acceleration that causes some simulator sickness, not velocity. So if the platform is always moving at a constant speed in the same direction, then perhaps your brain will accept it.

Our first test started with just a platform that moves forward through a large tunnel. Then we added pillars to anchor the player's virtual body to the platform (preventing your entire FOV from being consumed by moving walls). Tinted glass panels were added to push the tunnel walls into the background. Finally, particles were added to provide additional visual cues for the movement.


This level is still an experiment in progress, but at least for now it seems like it is possible to have a moving level while maintaining a comfortable experience.