Things I Learned
MAKING VR IN A VFX COMPANY
OMER SHAPIRA
@framestore
"WHY?"
PEOPLE LOOKING AT MY BIO,
2006 - ?
2000-2009
Film & TV
VIDEO EDITOR, DIRECTOR, VFX ARTIST
2008-2012
Tel Aviv Uni (Math)
ANALYSIS, MACHINE LEARNING, FUNCTIONAL PROGRAMMING, HOSTED A TV SHOW (?)
2012-2014
NYU ITP (Digital Art)
BUT ALSO LEARNED C++, C#, PYTHON, CLOJURE, UNITY; RESEARCH FOR KEN PERLIN
2014-2015
Framestore
Framestore
"YOu May Have Heard of Us"
-MY BOSS
AMAZING PROMO VIDEO GOES HERE
Framestore
VR
Game of thrones: Ascend the wall
The MarRiott
Teleporter
Interstellar: VR
ENGINES
unreal and unity and OTHERS
WE ALWAYS MAKE CUSTOM BUILDS
UNREAL IS EASY TO MODIFY
BALL CAMS
It's complicated.
DEVICES
EVERYTHING WE CAN.
IF IT'S BETTER, WE'LL TRY IT
Perception
THING #1
HUMANS Cling To Their Frame of Reference.
REMEMBER THAT WHEN DESIGNING HUDS.
START SPHERICAL.
"THINGS EQUIDISTANT AT EYE LEVEL" IS YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL.
VANISHING POINTS ARE POWERFUL.
WHICH MEANS YOU ONLY NEED ONE*
* A STRAIGHT SURFACE IS TWO.
UI: KEEP IT SIMPLE.
EYE SPACE ORIENTATION: SPHERICALLY MAPPED TANGENT PLANES
TONY STARK'S LAB
Client: SAMSUNG
INERTIA TO EASE ACCOMODATION
"BEST HUD I'VE USED"
-F16 FIGHTER PILOT
HUmans LITERALLY can't Even walk straight.
WE NEED A FEEDBACK LOOP TO CORRECT COURSE.
Merrell #Trailscape
18 MOTION CAPTURE CAMS
2 FANS
2 HAPTIC TRANSDUCERS
3.5M x 12M SPACE
3 MINUTES LONG
3 MONTHS WORK
1.00
1.00
1.00
To Go Straight, Turn Around.
IN VR THE TRACK ROTATED 40°.
IN REAL LIFE™ IT WAS LIKE 180°.
virtual reality
FIND POINT OF LEAST ATTENTION
CREATE A DISTRACTION
DO THE THING
PRETEND NOTHING HAPPENED
is like film
is like magick
tools:
earth
wind
fIre?
SURFACE TRANSDUCERS VIBRATE THE FLOORS
WIND MACHINES (AKA FAN+ARDUINO) CHANGE SENSE OF DIRECTION
ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS (AKA DUST CLOUDS) IN ENGINE MAKE CONVENIENT WIPES
SENSOR FUSION
MAKE SURE YOUR TRANSLATION PIVOT IS ALIGNED WITH YOUR ROTATION PIVOT.
OR YOUR NECK WILL FEEL VERY LONG.
Accommodation
THING #2
(PS I AM NOT A NEUROSCIENTIST)
BUT I CAN ACCESS THE PAPERS (AND SO CAN YOU)
OCULUS RECENTLY REMOVED THEIR WIKI OF VR PAPERS, STILL EXISTS ON INTERNET ARCHIVE
Simulation Sickness is a thing.
AN INDIVIDUAL THING.
"IRON STOMACHED VIKINGS" ISN'T A DEMOGRAPHIC.
Simulation Sickness IS NOT SEASICKNESS.
ACCOMMODATION TO ONE MAY ACTUALLY INCREASE THE OTHER.
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: a Network of Feedback Loops.
DON'T PROGRAM CAMERAS.
PROGRAM HUMAN REACTIONS.
THIS IS NOT A BALANCED NETWORK.
THE USER'S LIFE IS CONTINUOUS, EVEN IF THEY WALK INTO THINGS.
try
{
//TODO: Sure I'll test this someday
Some_YOLO_Function();
}
catch (ERRORS::THE_BIG_ONE errrrr)
{
MAKE_EVERYTHING_GO_AWAY_RIGHT_NOW();
}PREDICT EXCEPTIONS.
PLAN THE USER'S ESCAPE ROUTE.
YOUR ENTIRE UI SHOULD BE CONTINUOUS, LIKE A SHADER.
void App::Update()
{
Vector3 repulsion
= GetRepulsionFromDanger(Param1, Param2, ...);
Player::AddPosition ( repulsionVec );
PostProcessing::SetWarningColorLevel
(
WarningColor * repulsion.Magnitude()
);
}
HOT TIP: TRY STUFF
SERIOUS, PERSISTENT USER TESTING
STRIP THE GRAPHICS AND TEST THE INTERACTION
DIVERSIFY TESTER GROUPS
DIVERSIFY YOUR TEAM.
ALIENATING YOUR AUDIENCE IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK.
DEPTH perception VARIES VASTLY BETWEEN PEOPLE.
ASK QUESTIONS.
CAN THE USER BE SHORTER?
COLORBLIND?
4 TIMES AS NERVOUS AS ME?
(...)
sTABLE MEDIA IS THE WORST
THING #3
UNSTABLE MEDIA IS instrumental FOR STORYTELLING.
"USE TECHNOLOGY AS A VERB,
NOT A NOUN"
-RED BURNS
HCI > GFX FTW
GOOD GRAPHICS NEVER IMPROVE THE 'FEEL'.
IF IT MAKES PEOPLE DIZZY, RETHINK IT
IF IT DOESN'T FEEL INTERESTING,
IT'S PROBABLY BETTER ON A SCREEN.
YOU CAN DO AMAZING THINGS WITH ONE CUBE.
DON'T SCALE YOUR VISUALS TO WHAT YOU CAN MANAGE, SCALE THEM TO WHAT YOU CAN MASTER.
MR.DIV
YOU CAN'T CONTROL Where They Look, But YOU Can Control Where they Don't.
USE CONTRASTS, HIDE THINGS.
Know Thy Hardware.
DID YOU KNOW THE OCULUS CORRECTS YAW DRIFT WITH A MAGNETOMETER?
WE'RE REALLY LUCKY WE DID.
*ifixit
YOUR AUDIENCE IS ALWAyS VULNERABLE.
MAKE SURE THEY'RE SAFE.
(BODY AND MIND)
1.00
1.00
PLAN YOUR PEAKS.
ROLLERCOASTERS ALSO HAVE CHILL MOMENTS.
CLEAN YOUR G#&$%MN HEADSET.
BECAUSE YOU CARE.
@OMERSHAPIRA
DOT COM
GITHUB/
TWITTER/
ELLO/
(no, not really)
Things I Learned Making VR in a VFX Company (NYVR March 2015)
By Omer Shapira
