1. Demonstrate the core concepts and principles of virtual reality experience design.
2. Apply the underlying concepts and principles of Virtual Reality design to develop an interactive virtual reality experience.
3. Critically evaluate approaches and propose solutions to problems encountered during the production of a virtual reality experience.
4. Communicate the design of a virtual reality experience through documentation and video demonstrations.

Assessment Component 1 - (Learning Outcomes 1, 2 and 4)
Research and development journal for a virtual reality experience, weighted at 40%, consisting of:

- Research into the underlying theories, technical approaches, and design principles relevant to creating a virtual reality experience. This will also include a plan for a student-designed virtual reality experience and development documentation, posted to the Digital Academy Forum.

Assessment Component 2 - (Learning Outcomes 2,3 and 4)
A virtual reality experience Portfolio, weight at 60%, consisting of:

- Virtual reality project files and associated, playthrough videos and critical reflection upon your work. The videos and reflection are to be posted to the Digital Academy Forum.

Students will explore the theoretical and practical aspects of creating a virtual reality experience, reflecting upon design processes and outcomes.

Content themes may include:
- What is Virtual Reality (hardware & technologies, game genres, case studies, examples)
- Principles of Designing for VR (Transitioning from a 2D screen-space to a 3D virtual environment)
- Affordance and Controllers (Creating Intuitive Interaction in VR)
- The Importance of Feedback (Maintaining immersion and presence (Audio, haptics, visual cues, user attention)
- Navigation and Spatial Awareness in Virtual Reality (Tracking, occlusion, ergonomics, player and object positioning, interaction overlaps)
- Attention (exogenous vs endogenous)
- Preproduction and Project development for VR (case-studies, inspiration, purpose, scope, experience, characters, storyboarding, world-space planning, resource acquisition, storytelling)
- Designing for Scale in VR (Floor plans, ratios, human ergonomics)
- User Interfaces and User Experience in VR
- Health & safety considerations for VR

Virtual reality offers new and exciting ways of designing immersive games and interactive worlds, spaces that player can literally walk within. Freed from the limitations of a two-dimensional screen, you will learn how to design physical and spatial experiences where presence is key.

Working on a creative brief, you will develop a virtual reality project which could include VR games, escape rooms, interactive environments or other virtual reality experiences. You will be introduced to a range of design principles and practical techniques you can use to create your project. At the end of the module, you will present a playable demo that includes interaction within a virtual environment, remembering that simple ideas, executed well, are often the most successful.

2 * 3-hour Workshop / Tutorial sessions.

Jerald, J. 2015. The VR Book: Human-Centered Design for Virtual Reality Acm Books, 8.. Illustrated. Morgan & Claypool Publishers.

Tricart, C. 2017. Virtual Reality Filmmaking: Techniques & Best Practices for VR Filmmakers. 1st edn. Routledge.

Chan, M. 2014. Virtual reality: representations in contemporary media. New York: Bloomsbury.

Norman, D. 2013. The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Adfo Books.

Swink, S. 2009. Game feel: a game designer’s guide to virtual sensation. Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers/Elsevier.

Alger, M. 2023. VR Interface Design Pre-Visualisation Methods. Available at: https://vimeo.com/141330081.

Mike Alger 2015. VR Interface Design Manifesto 2014.. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3b8hZ5NV2E.

Chung, T. 2018. Making Sense of Skyboxes in VR Design - Tessa M. Chung. Available at: https://medium.com/@indiecontessa/making-sense-of-skyboxes-in-vr-design-3e9f8fe254d3.

Björk, S. and Holopainen, J. 2004. Patterns in Game Design Game Development Series.. Charles River Media
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patterns-Design-Charles-River-Development/dp/1584503548

McCreery, M.P. et al. 2013. “A sense of self: The role of presence in virtual environments,” Computers in Human Behavior, 294., pp. 1635–1640. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.002.

Dillman, K.R. et al. 2018. “A Visual Interaction Cue Framework from Video Game Environments for Augmented Reality,” Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3173714.

Ravasz, J. 2018. Design Practices in Virtual Reality - UX Collective. Available at: https://uxdesign.cc/design-practices-in-virtual-reality-f900f5935826.

Thornton, P. 2021. What is an affordance? - UX Collective. Available at: https://uxdesign.cc/what-is-an-affordance-6b60f2de79f2.

S115 - VR Lab
S113 Dual-Pod Room
S111 - Greenscreen room
HTC VIVEs
VIVE Trackers
Media Stores (Equipment Loans)
Unreal Engine
Adobe Suite
Office 365