Microchallenge 3
Reflection on Microchallenge 3: Creating the Immersive Portals Experience¶
Introduction: Microchallenge 3 was centered on creating “Portals,” an immersive virtual reality experience that showcased various potential futures for Plaza Espanya. The experience was based on the electoral promises of political parties during the week of Catalan elections, displaying both current and hypothetical transformations influenced by urban mobility proposals.
Project Conception and Goals: The primary objective of this project was to enable participants to experience, first-hand, future urban development scenarios through VR. By visualizing the present state of Plaza Espanya alongside eight envisioned futures, the project sought to provoke thought and gather feedback on urban mobility changes proposed by different political parties. The ultimate goal was to engage participants in a voting process to identify the most favored urban future, providing a unique, interactive way to reflect on potential urban transformations.
Development Process: The development of the Portals project involved multiple phases, from ideation to execution, focusing on creating a seamless and engaging VR experience. Key aspects included:
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Initial Setup:
- Asset Integration: We began by integrating high-quality images and audio files into the VR scene, setting the stage for a compelling visual and auditory experience.
- Scene Navigation: Implementing intuitive navigation within the VR environment was crucial, allowing users to easily switch between current and future scenarios.
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Iterative Improvements:
- Button Interactivity: A significant challenge was ensuring that buttons were only active when visible. Initially, the “Start” button remained active in the scenario view, causing unintended behavior. This was addressed by carefully managing the button states, disabling them when not in use.
- Audio Management: Managing audio tracks efficiently was critical. We ensured that audio did not restart unnecessarily when switching between current and future images within the same scenario, and introduced a mute button to control audio playback effectively.
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Visual and User Experience: Adjustments were made to improve the UI, ensuring that the buttons were spaced sensibly and that primary actions were clearly distinguishable.
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User Voting Mechanism: The integration of a voting mechanism allowed participants to select their preferred scenario after experiencing the VR content. This interactive element not only engaged users but also provided valuable insights into their preferences.
Key Learnings: 1. Modular Code and Custom Events: Utilizing custom events for handling scenario transitions and button interactions enhanced code modularity and maintainability. This approach allowed for cleaner, more organized code structures, facilitating easier management and future extensions.
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Component-Based Architecture: Leveraging A-Frame’s component-based architecture enabled the creation of reusable components for functionalities such as button interactions and audio controls. This approach significantly improved the scalability and maintainability of the project.
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Responsive Design: Ensuring the VR experience was accessible on various devices was essential. We employed media queries and A-Frame’s responsive components to adjust the layout and functionality based on the device, ensuring a seamless user experience across platforms.
Scenario Examples:¶
Outcome and Reflections: The voting results from our classmates revealed interesting preferences and insights into the scenarios. We received a lot of detailed feedback on why people voted the way they did. Many users pointed out specific details they didn’t like, which influenced their choice. For instance, one local classmate mentioned that seeing certain buildings transformed made her dislike some representations, even though she appreciated other aspects of the scenarios. These insights were invaluable, offering a glimpse into collective perceptions and priorities regarding urban mobility.
The project demonstrated the importance of iterative development, user-centered design, and responsive implementation. By addressing the challenges and iterating on solutions, we were able to create an engaging and informative VR experience that aligned with the goals of the MDEF program. This project underscored the value of integrating technical skills with design thinking to produce meaningful and interactive digital experiences.
Creating an immersive voting experience based on the potential impact of each political party’s electoral program was a daring but rewarding experiment. The technology and insights gained from this project will likely play a crucial role in the development of my final project. This journey has not only provided me with practical skills but also deepened my understanding of how immersive technologies can influence and reflect public opinion on urban mobility futures.
Conclusion: Using VR to achieve the goal of creating an experience based on feedback was an interesting take for sure, and although it was different from other classmates’ projects, it was an incredible dive into the world of coding and getting consistent results, especially for a project done in less than 5 days. Microchallenge 3, the Portals project, showcased the potential of VR in engaging users and gathering valuable insights, highlighting the importance of immersive technologies in shaping the future of urban mobility.