“Happy Tails,” VR and PC platform for ASA Summer 2021 – Fall 2021
Lead Designer, Production Manager & Technical Director
- Completed for first round of testing in January 2022
- Game Studio title focused on lesson efficacy comparison between VR and PC platforms as part of an ASA grant ($1 million, this game project was one multiple from this budget)
- Design of a veterinary themed game targeted at middle school aged players that allows for a strict comparison of modality with use of consistent content
- Design Appeal: stylized cel-shaded graphics, multiple interactions with animals, Mars theme with embedded tangential storyline
As part of the ASA grant, one of the items of research we were tasked with exploring is how to convey specific types of material effectively — specifically comparing VR vs PC modalities. Given factual material but requiring investigation of dynamic data (for example, is a given dog over, under or at weight), it is a valuable challenge to determine ways to eliminate as many other factors as possible and hone in on the specialization of the modalities themselves.
I enjoyed this challenge and spent a significant portion of time on design factors as well as on ways to express the challenge and requirements effectively to the undergraduate team so that we could work together to problem-solve. The technical challenges of developing for VR were dealt with early on, as I have significant experience, but the production and testing environment needed for VR always proves a challenge for larger groups, particularly for those whose members do not enjoy VR experiences. Furthermore, the mechanics design had its own challenges, as I had to address and include elements which were truly unique and well suited for the VR modality. We are at a point to send the project out (along with its pc counterpart) to an approved target group for feedback.
Would I continue to play this game? Well I am not sure that is a fair review criteria in this case, as I am not the target, but did I enjoy testing this game? Do I like moving around in the game, seeing the new dogos and cycling through the fun objects you can give to the dogs? Yes, I genuinely do! So assuming we can pull the research data from this project, then I would call this highly successful!
This is just a video draft, but good for this space: