Introduction

This idea behind this project was to get an understanding of electro and how it can be used to create a VR experience of some sort.

Therefore, I went about creating a world containing some rooms, a hallway, a courtyard and finally a lawn of some type, where the user moves from a confined environment to eventually an open air courtyard and finally a lawn.

An illustration of the users transition from a dark and ominous place to a more peaceful and friendly place among the trees. 

The modelling was done using AC3D and everything was imported as an Obj file into the world.

Some of the interesting issues I faced were related to sprites. Sprites can be useful when you want some sort of animation going on in the background. However, they can be a problem, as they are not drawn correctly and the depth order is not maintained.

A possible solution would be to draw the world in a back to front fashion.

There were some interesting aspects to the project such as the animation details that made the world more believable and realistic.

  • Waving Trees: This was an interesting effect that I came up with where the trees appeared to move or sway in the wind giving the user a feeling of being outside in a windy place. This coupled with the ambient wind sound effects that I used in outdoor locations created the realistic feel that was necessary for the scene.

  •  Animated fountains: The fountains were created to illustrate the physics engine and also to create a nice, brighter scene which would be a change from the darker theme of the prison cell and the corridor. The fountain courtyard further leads out into the garden with the trees and boulders.

  •  Crushing Blocks: The animated crushing blocks that are present in the hallway are intended to make the user think about avoiding them and moving forward. The user can even crouch under certain crushing blocks to avoid them and walk forward.

The idea behind the project was to put the user in a situation where he has to move out of the world towards the brighter part of the world. The dreariness of the cell and the corridor gives way to the open, calm and peaceful outer garden.

This movement of the user highlights his journey from darkness in the cell to the brightness among the trees.

Here is a screenshot of the world,

You can download the app from here