Author: Alexa Donahue

I laid out the subway scene in unity, this time with cubes in place for all elements.

I managed to find a lever that already works in VR so I will use it for ticket purchasing.

I made a very basic mechanic for the purchasing of tickets, using unity events linked to canvas editing and the disappearance of colliders inside the ticket machine, however, this is not ideal in case the user wants to repeat the process so I have consulted with Herman in the UNI and he has helped me code a spawner.

The mechanics are quite simple, I even replicated an animated door for the meantime, when the user places a ticket in the ticket machine.

The only technical problem I am having at the moment is the UI in the ticket machine, which does not let me press a button more than once. I consulted with Herman but he wasn’t able to help me with this issue so I will continue to investigate.

I managed to lay out the supermarket level in cubes.

I have a cube with a handle that can only move forward and backwards which acts as a trolley for now. On each side I have rectangles that act like shelves with small cubes that act like items.

In my trolley there are 5 socket interactors that are hidden and the next one appears when the correct object is placed. Also there are red walls that unlock access to the following section.

When grabbing a cube item a lable that always faces the user pops up and an audio sounds automatically. The audio can be triggered again by pressing the activate button.

It could be said that I have no technical issues at the moment, however, I am sure some problems will arise when I start replacing everything for the final visuals. Some things are missing such as initial intructions, the list of groceries and the final checkout and doors.

I think it’s safe to say that I can move forward to the next level.

I will try to instert images later on of how it looks. Right now it’s all gray cubes.

I think I have gotten to a point in which I have a pretty solid idea and the mechanics are quite clear.

What worries me the most about this project is the technical part, as the graphics and visuals are my strong point.

As a designer I always think about visuals first but I will make an effort and focus on getting ALL the mechanics figured out before I do anything graphic.

I want to ensure that each level is bug free and that I have enough time to take care of any technical problem instead of rushing with issues at last minute.

I broke down all mechanics and I’m going to start to take care of each of them level by level.

MAIN MENU:

• Point to pin and have canvas pop out
• Have canvas look at you the whole time

SUPERMARKET

• Trolley physics
• Be able to grab objects
• Have socket in trolley
• Unlock section when placing object in trolley
• Have items cross out in list when placing object

SUBWAY STATION

• Ticket machine mechanics (lever)
• Ticket spawner
• Hover on translation
• Open door when placing ticket
• Putting socket in ticket machine

KITCHEN

• Animation when placing object in socket
• Have words cross out in recipe

At the moment I have only managed to work on the menu/world scene. I don’t have a globe yet but the canvas and buttons are linked to the levels and they work. I have also written a code for a vertical billboard in which the canvas looks at the user all the time.

I sketched out and designed a sort of “floorplan” for each of the 3 levels I want to design.

This is the supermarket level. The user is provided with a list of items they need to find and browse for. BY walking in a straight line towards the checkout the user will go through different sections with different categories of things you buy in a supermarket. BY interacting with each item the user can see how each word is spelled and pronounced. That is how the user will find each item on the list. The main learning methods will be image-word association.

In this level the user is in a station with 3 doors leading to different lines (names TBD, could be numbers or colors?). The tasks will be ask for directions to a certain place and buy a ticket for a certain line. The main learning methods will be translation by talking to an NPC.

In this level the user will be able to learn vocabulary of kitchen appliances and also verbs of cooking. They will have to follow a recipe step by step and will be heavy on animation. Which means that on the technical side it might be a little tricky.

I decided to treat this project as a UX project, which is why my next step in this process was to do benchmarking and develop user personas.

I am starting to build out a report/design document which I will hopefully be able to deliver at the end of the project.

This is how it’s looking like right now:

Benchmarking:

User personas:

In order to figure out the technical side of language learning, and to ensure that the learning methods are effective. I did a lot of research on how current language learning apps teach the user a language.

The main methods I recognized are:

• Image – word association
• Repetition
• Translation
• Voice recognition

I think apart from the last method which could entail some technical issues, the first three are the ideal candidates to apply in VR.

I started brainstorming the possible flow and navigation of the whole experience. Based on the idea that the user starts viewing the whole world in front of them, and decides to “travel” to a specific place in order to learn the language. 

Another idea I came up with is to have souvenirs. So when you successfully travel somewhere, you would be able to get a souvenir in that country and have them displayed in the main menu. I am not sure how I feel about this idea, though. 

I have 5 different level ideas or actions that could be excecuted in the experince: order food in a restaurant, buy a train ticket, follow directions to a landmark, buy groceries in a supermarket and follow a recipe. 

There are plenty of activities that could be done, but the idea would be to show a demo of all the capabilities the application could have. I would show a few of these activities and have different languages for each one. 

I think the idea is very solid and has a lot of potential. 

I decided to stick to the idea of language learning in VR. 

I wrote some notes and ideas related to the topic:

• VR app that teaches you many languages
• Different levels with different difficulties
• Teaches you language by taking you to the actual place and making you do basic tasks
• It has an app that works simultaneously and tracks your progress
• Ar integration????
• “The best way to learn a language is by completely immersing oneself”
• Some task ideas: getting a ticket in train station, asking for directions and going to that place, buying something in a store, ordering food

It would be a great opportunity to then discuss the benefits of Virtual Reality in education as there is a lot of research in that area. 

During the course year I started making a list of all the ideas I had for the final major project. 

I decided I wanted to do a project that could be useful and marketable, rather than an artistic piece. 

Here is the following list:

• app that teaches you sign language
• Tiktok in VR
• App that teaches you how to make basic stuff that you might not now (eg. Fix the sink)
• AR card game
• App/game to learn a language
• A game where someone uses the headset and someone uses the controller
• Two different games that help each other move forward (2 people play at the same time)