Recycling @NYUAD is a project that strives to bring awareness to the environment and waste issue at NYU Abu Dhabi. It seems that many of our students lack the knowledge of recycling properly and frequently, so we want to use this project to address that problem.

The look & feel:

One important decision we made in terms of the campus was to focus on one portion of it – not too much space, but enough to move around, be able to see trash littered around, but at the same time exude a sense of a closed space so players don’t wander around and stay within that designated area. Our set area was the space right outside D2, where there are grass patches and A6 and The Arts Center are on the side.

My job was to create the actual space. I took references from taking photos in the actual space and also looking at Google Map to see what the player would actually be seeing if they were standing in that space.

Initially I tried looking for prefabs that could be used for this project but because our campus is very unique in design, it was difficult to find anything similar. So I started building them from scratch on Unity using 3D shapes. The key was to layer them together to mimic the building structures and add elements for details.

On my part, I’m pretty satisfied with how the environment turned out. It was my first time building assets from scratch and it took a lot of trials and errors, but I enjoyed the process and liked how it turned out. I also spent a while experimenting with different skyboxes and eventually settled on a bright, cloudy sky look, which fit the environment quite well. The main things I learned in the process of building the 3D space were 1) using the right color, 2) getting the relative size of buildings correct, 3) adding small but important details that can make that space look more realistic and accurate.

After I completed all buildings and the environment was finished, I passed it onto Ju Hee, who incorporated prefabs of objects that populate the space, such as chairs, tables, and trash.

For the interaction, Simran and Yufei worked on how the player would pick up the trash. The pieces of trash glow yellow when the player is nearby, indicating that they can pick them up, which they can then dump them in the recycling bin. A sound plays if it is recycled properly and another sound plays if it’s not.

In reflection, if we had more time I think we could have worked more on making the interaction more sophisticated – for instance, making the trash come to live and react angrily if the player chooses to ignore it and not pick it up to recycle it. It could shake and make a roaring sound until the player actually picks it up. I think this would have made the experience more engaging and interesting. Making the trash come more alive would also be taking advantage of VR as a medium as it’s not bound by how things work in the real world.

We also had issues re-styling the environment for the interaction as the space itself was pretty big. Looking back, I think we could have spent more time trying to adjust the size and scale more.

I would also work more on the space, decorate the buildings a little more, and maybe even add animations of people sitting around and chatting to each other near the Dining Hall. All of these contributions would add to the experience when the player is in the space, making it engaging and immersive.

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After user-testing & presentation in class:

I was very delighted to find that a lot of my classmates found our project very fun to play. To our surprise, people started throwing the trash around to see if they can throw it into the trash can from afar. It was interesting to see how our supposed weakness of having a huge space contributed to the fun element. Moving on, we could make use of this feature – if the player throws the trash from afar and fails to throw it into the trash can, it comes flying back and doubles in number! To add to the educational element, we could also have words pop up onscreen, giving numbers and facts about our waste control at NYU Abu Dhabi and how different kinds of trash should be properly recycled.

I was also pleased that people found the environment very familiar. I spent a lot of time trying to build The Arts Center, The Dining Hall, A6 as well as the grass patches from scratch, so it was very rewarding to hear my friends telling me that they could immediately recognize the space.

Original Idea

Our idea was to create an environment that places the player inside a greenhouse, surrounded by plants and the sound of the rainforest, with a planting station in front of them with several tools to choose from. The main items to interact with were the pot, seed, and watering can. The twist would be what would grow from this seed. And what was awaiting their discovery behind them.

Our “everyday action” that we played around with was the action of gardening, but in this world what was planted was a seed of a carnivorous plant. And if looked behind, the player realizes that this plant is one that must be contained in a cage for the safety of the people in this world.

Storyboard;

The player would find themselves in front of a planting platform with a pot, seed and watering can by their reach. The player would them pick the seed place it in the pot and water it. As they water it, the seed would shrink till it disappears and a carnivorous plant would grow in its place and start trying to attack the player.

When the player starts looking around their environment, they would be able to notice a large butterfly flying outside above them, the shadow of the insect on the ground would indicate the player there is something above them.

Different perspectives

Assets

While creating the environment, we found ourselves at the luxury of having a variety of prefabs to choose from;

The main asset we used was a $1 greenhouse (Green House 3D Model) furnished with a table, several pots, and a hanging lamp. At first the greenhouse was well, green and then we changed the color to have it be white to fit the image we had of it being a victorian inspired greenhouse. We separated the items (pots and table) to make it easier on us to choose from them what we required to have placed inside. And when designing the inside of the greenhouse we placed pots around the player, some were empty and some housed plants taken from the enemy plants package which came with animations.

The other asset we used an abundance of was the asset of UniTrees 3; which included detailed, fantasy trees, plants, and bushes.

What was learned?

When creating the outside environment, we found an easier method to place multiple items that are the same. By adding to the terrain the object of the trees and plants; and having the brush place them randomly and be a part of the terrain. What was also learned was when we came across the resizing of the butterfly prefab; whenever it would play its animation the size of the butterfly would shrink back to the original. When going through the tabs of the prefab, you must not only resize the object but its animation as well.

Interaction

Limitations and Reflection

With the time limitation, we found it difficult to implement several pots and seeds for the user to interact with so we ended up on settling on one pair.

Another difficulty we faced was how when items were grabbed, the mesh becomes nonexistent and items such as the watering can goes through the pot. We tried multiple settings and options, but as we kept trying it would get worse and eventually the hands in the game just deleted completely. Max had to create a new project and re-import steamVR for it to go back to normal.

Reflecting on the final scene, it was quite satisfying to come pretty close to our original idea. And when including the butterfly overhead; it gave the player a sense of miniature size compared to what is outside this greenhouse. And also a sense of the dangerous outdoors.

The final thing we added was the audio, extracting audio files from free sound.org we found several sounds of the forest; that included birds, wildlife, and wind. When including that file to our scene, it immerses the player in the game and gives them feedback another one of their senses. We included three other sound files as well, one for the caged plant located behind the player, and that sounds setting was put at a 3D sound and that means that if the sound is coming from the right, the player would hear it from the right earphone and vice versa. The plant that the player grows also will play an audio file of low growling to add a scary factor to these plants. And the watering can also has a water audio file attached to it.

What we hoped to include

Having such an environment allows us to the freedom of expression, and the freedom to add whatever our mind imagines. We initially hoped we could give the player choices of seeds that they can plant, and each growing a different plant. And the main plants interaction, we could’ve had its animation actually feel more like it attacked the player and thus ending the game. But if the game ended there; the player might not be able to have time to fully enjoy the 360 view of the environment entirely. Allowing the player to fight back against the plant would immerse the individual further into the environment giving them a way to react to what is happening. Although the scene we created is pretty detailed, having animated animals outside and a running river would further give life to the location would be nice but it was quite difficult finding a well suited animated animal to include.

What I have learned from this project

This was my first time building an environment on unity. My biggest issue when it came to building the environment was recognizing the three dimensional space. It was really hard to see where exactly lots of the objects were placed. Because I was so used to the two dimensional designs that I used to do, making a three dimensional space was difficult. I could not make good use of the total space. Instead all the objects were placed on one side of the environment. However, I was able to learn how to think of the space in a three dimensional way. I think this will help me in my future projects. I will be able to plan out the space better and place things better.

Limitations and Reflection

Biggest issue I had with the project was not considering the viewer. When I designed the place I was thinking of the space more as a picture of a place. I thought of it as drawing a painting instead of building a physical space. Because of this, when I was planning everything I did not consider the viewer or the viewer’s experience. The viewer rarely had any interaction with the space due to it. Moreover this was the biggest reason why I had issues with the camera.

I did have technical issues with setting the camera, but I was lost when I was thinking of where to put the camera. There was only one way to put the camera which was putting it in front of the scene, but once I did, there wasn’t any interaction factor to the space.

What I want to work on my next project

What I want to work on my next project is to build a good base for my space and to use all of the space possible. I want to build a solid plane and walls around the space so the viewer could have easier time understanding the place. I also want to try building different buildings on the plane.

Also I would like to add more elements to the environment. I want to make sure the user and turn around and see different objects around him/her instead of not having anything once they turn around.

Here is the link to my presentation about this project

I have decided to try Invasion for my Google Cardboard experience. It was a very immersive experience but there were several factors that I thought was really significant.

As soon as I started watching the video, I was kind of confused. Nothing was really happening in the screen and I was looking around. However, something that really helped me figure out what was happening was sound. I heard sound and I looked around to see where the sound is coming from. Without the sound it would have been hard to figure out what exactly was happening. When the alien spaceship was showing up in the sky, the surrounding sound made the viewer look around. There was a sound that made me look around and look up to see what exactly was happening. It made me realize, that sound is as important as the environment itself when it comes to viewer experience.

Moreover, What I have realized is that when I am building environment, I do not get to use the whole space. I usually would use half of the space and not use the space behind the viewer. What I found interesting is that this VR experience lets the viewer explore and move around a lot. It was the usage of space that made the viewer, for example, myself to look around and fully experience it.

Also there were some parts where the characters approach the user. Personally I thought that was very adorable. Because of the interaction with the characters it made me feel like I was actually there with them instead of feeling like I am watching them from far away. The eye contact these characters make and the noises they make was very significant.

Here is a link to my documentation presentation

Project Description

Zenboo creates a space for the user to relax, placing the user in the middle of the mountains and free to play with bamboo. The user is able to water the bamboo using a watering can and watch it grow in a unique way, use the watering can to bounce around different parts of the bamboo, and make parts of the bamboo disappear with a sickle. Surrounding the user is a mountain range, a circle of floating rocks, and a tree stump to place the watering can and sickle on. Rather than being a game or a narrative, Zenboo’s purpose is to make the user feel relaxed and playful.

Process and Implementation

I was mainly responsible for creating the physical environment the user is placed in. This involved a lot of playing around with different aspects as well as going through cycles of feedback from the rest of the team. When we were storyboarding, we had a general idea of what the environment would look like:

The user would stand within a circle of rocks (to indicate a sort of barrier that the user would have to stay within), which was surrounded by a circle of mountains. A group of bamboo would be directly in front of the user, with a tree stump containing the watering can and sickle beside them.

When I set out to create the environment, I initially stuck to this design. I created mountains using the terrain tool, using the Yellow Mountains as inspiration:

The reason for this inspiration is they are very mystical and calming, which would help contribute to the relaxation aspect of Zenboo. However, when placing the user in the middle of these mountains, it was a bit overbearing so I created a platform mountain for the user to stand in. This way, it feels like the user is more in the mountains rather than standing below and looking up at them, adding a more mystical effect.

The circle of rocks was another thing implemented into the environment. When receiving feedback, however, it was suggested that the rocks be larger and floating around the user rather than the initial plan to have them resting on the ground. This turned out to have a pretty cool effect, adding another layer of mystique.

One thing that changed from our initial plan was the location of the bamboo. Since space is a limitation, having the clump of bamboo in front of the user all spaced out would have been problematic, or perhaps not as intuitive that the user had to go over to it and water it. Instead, we decided to place the bamboo in a semi-circle close to and around the user. This way, the user does not have to walk very much in order to water all of the bamboo. The final environment looks like this from afar:

Reflection and Evaluation

I think we successfully created an environment that is peaceful for the user to be in. The surroundings are green and full of nature, the background music is calming, and the main movements the user can do to interact with the environment, pouring and cutting, require gentle motions. I think something unexpected that was added was the added interaction the user can do outside of our initial planning, which slightly transforms the space. For instance, the way the bamboo grows is not how bamboo normally grows, and you can play with the bamboo pieces by bouncing them up and down with the watering can, kind of like a volleyball. I’ve found that this is my favorite activity to do when I’m testing out the space, which is perhaps more playful than it is relaxing. However, I don’t think this is a negative thing; I think the added playfulness fits nicely. But, if we did want to keep Zenboo a strictly relaxing space, then it would perhaps have been constructed differently. The bamboo could float away gently, for example. The sickle could be more low poly. More allowed movement, like a big open space the user could walk around in, would also perhaps be more relaxing.