Puzzler — VR Game Project
Introduction
My name is Lama AlDaej, a computer science student who interested in Virtual Reality and loves video games. You will read my journey of creating my first VR project for my Udacity VR Nanodegree which named as “Puzzler”. It is a simple Virtual Reality game for new VR users which asks them to solve a some kind of puzzle.
I used Unity to create the Puzzler game, and since it is my first time using Unity I needed to learn more about it and watch lessons to get ready.
Moreover, it is not easy to design a VR game as it may cause user sickness and each user has his/her own design requirements. So, I really worked hard and did multiple user testing to create the Puzzler VR game which can satisfy the player and becomes part of or immersed in the Puzzler’s environment to make him/her love the VR world since the users of the puzzler game are new VR users.
To create the Puzzler game, it took less than two weeks including learning Unity and excluding the final exams break. However, I really enjoyed learning Unity and creating this game and I learnt so much about VR Design, User Experience (UX), and User Testing from Udacity tutorials which help me a lot to create this project and document it.
The design process of the Puzzler game was documented in this article in the following sections: the process section, the user testing, and the final outcome. Let’s begin the journey!
Process section
Statement of Purpose
Puzzler is a mobile VR application that challenges new VR users to solve a familiar type of puzzle in a new way.
Persona
Sketches
Here, I drew two sketches to portray the starting and ending User Interface (UI) Design for the Puzzler game. Then, I asked five users to choose their preferred ones.
User Testing
Pre-Test
Tested by a user
- “The room is empty which scares me a little bit.”
- “Why there are no flames in the torches?”
- “I like the overall structure of the room, but I don’t get the purpose of it.”
My notes and fixes
- Lightning was added.
- Orbs were added, so the room doesn’t feel empty.
- The mood of the environment was changed.
First User test — Environment
First user’s notes
- “I like the colors.”
-“It feels the room temperature is high and I feel hot.”- “Is it a spooky game? Because it makes me scared.”
Second user’s notes
- “Wow! Do I need to fight someone to win?”
- “What are these balls? Can I touch them?”
My notes and fixes
- The intensity of the lights were reduced.
- The goal and rules of the game were added using an entrance interface.
The user should know the purpose of the game and should know what to do so she/he can’t be confused.
Second User test — User Interface (UI) Elements
The user’s notes
Immediately clicked the button.
- “The font size is clear.”
- “I prefer the panels to be centered.”
- “I like how the rule of the game is mentioned in the start, but why I didn’t get inside the room?”
My notes and fixes
- The interfaces were centered.
Final User test
First user’s notes
- “The purpose and texts are very clear.”
- “The sequence is fast I couldn’t remember it easily and it made me feel dizzy.”
- “It would be better if the ball changes its color to red when it’s wrong.”
- “I enjoyed playing the Puzzler game.”
Second user’s notes
- “Amazing! I like this kind of games.”
- “The background sounds enhance the feeling of the magical and little scary mood of the game. ”
- “I like it when the clicked ball makes sound to confirm the click.”
My notes and fixes
- The puzzle speed was reduced.
The final outcome
The final version of Puzzler game has been improved to meet the users’ expectation as it had been tested multiple times before.
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First, the user will see an interface that states the game’s name and purpose to let the user know what the game is in a clear big enough text and a big button to start the game.
After the user clicks the ‘Play’ button, he/she will enter the room and will see blue orbs that glow and sounds in a predetermined sequence with reasonable speed to not make it too hard or too easy. And asks the user to memorize it and repeat it by clicking the orbs in the same order.
However, when the user points at an orb it will glow to indicates that he/she points at it and if he/she selects a correct orb, a ball sound, as the sound in the sequence, will be heard. Otherwise, a different sound will be heard to indicates that the user selects the wrong orb and the game will be repeated until the user selects the correct sequence.
In the end, after the user selects the correct order, he/she will see another interface that tells the user that he/she won and providing a ‘Play Again!’ button to let the user restart the game.
Conclusion
Puzzler game requires the user to follow the right sequence by pressing the orbs to win. It also informs the user when he/she clicks the wrong orb by providing a different kind of sound and the game will be repeated until the user gets the right sequence.
In this project, many changes and versions have been applied and created to ensure users’ satisfaction, improve the design of the environment, and have an appropriate puzzle speed of the sequence.
Finally, I really had fun designing and creating the Puzzler game. Thanks to my leader for helping me and all people who helped me to complete it by giving me honest feedback in the user testing. I realized the importance of the user testing in this project since the users can give you important notes and advice that you didn’t notice and improve the user experience.
Next Steps
The puzzler game can be improved by changing the color of the wrong selected orb and selecting the difficulty of the game in the starting interface, for example, if the user wants the difficulty to be hard, then the sequence will be faster and more than five orbs are used in the sequence.
Download The Game’s APK: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ROLnaScpu19NwXiReHpuujFwZgBIGTO6?usp=sharing
