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BETWEEN THE SUNS
A VR Research Project
BETWEEN THE SUNS
BETWEEN THE SUNS
Between the Suns is a psychological healing experience meant to be used in a clinical setting. It aims to treat the symptoms of anxiety, allowing participants to dive deeper into the root causes of stress and change their ways of thinking by creating new mental anchors.
The game introduces surrealistic environments with different levels of gameplay and interactivity. The user is accompanied by different instrumental music in each scene. The sea-level sunset scene has interactable fish that change color when clicked, whereas the environment under the sea has less stimulus and is more relaxing. The two other scenes act as an introduction and conclusion, framing and narrating the experience.
Role: VR concept design, UI and UX design, prototyping, testing, animation, research, and development
Hardware: Oculus Quest 2Software: Unity, Procreate
Audience: Psychological therapists and their clients
Time frame: 2021-2022
Team: Maya Albağlı (sound designer), Michele Tugade (faculty advisor)VR concept design, UI and UX design, prototyping, testing, animation, research, and development
Design process:
Using rigged models and found backgrounds, I animated the scenes and designed the environments. I then made UI elements and buttons for the game. Finally, I learned lighting optimization and baking techniques to make the colors pop while the application runs smoothly. I added some post-production, and voila: a VR game without any coding!
Challenges:
• Finding high-quality HDRIs to avoid nausea
• Working with height and depth
• Animation and interaction design
Outcomes:
• Learned to test frequently and with different people
• Introduced psychologists to VR for the first time
• Presented my game to a class
• Came up with different strategies to share VR games with different people
Expanding the Scope: Between the Suns Lab Study
The experience aims to produce awe, an emotion induced by complex stimuli and vast environments. I presented the game to psychology researchers who encouraged me to test the game. I will be conducting a psychology lab experiment between January-May 2022 to validate that Between the Suns is an awe-inspiring and anxiety-reducing game.
This study will exemplify that VR therapy and games can be used as tools for different therapy sessions. It will extend the possibilities of VR therapy, explain the power of a specific VR experience, and expose participants to VR in a safe and empowering space. It can broaden the range of approaches taken to treat anxiety disorders or feelings of anxiety during therapy sessions. Since the study of awe in VR is only in its beginnings, this study will add to the research on how awe in VR compares to awe in the physical world.
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