Physical Body Extension in VR - An Inclusive City Destruction Game
Topic Description Virtual reality (VR) games allow players to use their bodies as a direct interface for interacting with digital content. What makes this special is that this immediate interaction with the virtual environment can create a sense of agency, a high level of immersion, and a strong awareness of one’s own body. Typically, VR avatars closely resemble the shape of a human body and align with a player’s range of motion
This thesis aims to implement an extended humanoid virtual body featuring a tail as an additional limb that interacts with the environment. Players take the role of a giant, Godzilla-like creature with a virtual tail that sets out to destroy a fictional city using the entirety of their extended body.
To encourage engagement with the digital environment, the game emphasizes rich, juicy feedback. The experience will be designed to accommodate players with various ranges of motion, bodies, and physical prerequisites. For example, the game should be accessible to people who walk and people who use wheelchairs alike. Thus, the game should be playable without controllers.
Task Summary
The thesis includes the following:
- State of Research: Explore current literature on embodiment and presence, accessibility and empowering game mechanics in VR.
- Prototype Implementation: Build an accessible VR game prototype that provides an extended body perception.
- Technical Evaluation: Evaluate the functionality of the prototype, ensure robustness and performance.
- Discussion: Reflect on the challenges and opportunities of implementing extended body perception in accessible VR games.
Skills
Required: Software Development
Beneficial: VR Development, Unity Engine