Hello, I'm Yishi Deng, a multidisciplinary artist living in New York City with two cats and one dog.
Hello, I'm Yishi Deng, a multidisciplinary artist living in New York City with two cats and one dog.
Adulting is based on my parents' worst nightmare about their young adult daughter (me) living in a messy room and never able to find anything. Users step in a messy VR room to look for all the stickers before they step out. Targeting entry-level VR users age 13 and above, adulting is carefully crafted to avoid motion sickness and unachievable goal.
(Please click on the tiny play button above to view the game play video)
To begin the experience, players will start in a bathroom where a gigantic instruction board in front of them asking them to explore the room and find all the stickers.
When the players found the correct sticker, they will be able to put the sticker on the sticker pad. When they have found all the stickers, they will be instructed to open the door and exit the room.
I interviewed my dad to find out what he thinks, what he does, what he feels, and what he says when he waits for us to get ready every time before we head out.
I created an empathy map accordingly. I also created what I do, what I think, what I say, and how I feel during the time I get ready.
I took the empathy map to school and interview my peers about their morning routine.
Prototype 1
The first prototype is built with a standalone VR headset Lenovo Mirage.
Players use a remote control to move around and interact with the objects.
Prototype 1 User Test feedback:
The graphic was not as clear as expected. The remote control interaction is linear.
Users expected more than walk around a messy room.
Prototype 2
I recreate the project with Steam VR SDK and Oculus Rift headset.
I used Blender to create 3D models of cookwares that are identical to what I have at home and added them to the scene.
Cats are flying towards players’ headset to remind the player to feed the cats as soon as possible.
A 60 second timer is added. In order to earn more time, players need to hit the snooze button attached to the left controller.
Prototype 2 User Test Feedback:
Timer is too short. A lot of players struggled to find out which one is the snooze button. The instruction is distracted and hard to read.
Flying cats are not cute. They are rather creepy and annoying.
Final Prototype
Instead of using UI, I created materials that contain instruction.
I analyzed the interview answers again and picked out the most relatable adulting stickers to represent young adults’ morning routine.
Adjusted the fonts and lightings.
The 60-second timer has been replaced by a 15-minute timer.
No more flying cats. The cats are quietly sitting on the floor or on the bed patiently waiting for the players to feed them.
a. A tutorial scene has been added to the actual game.
b. Learn to grab objects and move around with the controller
c. Find stickers
d. Put Stickers onto the sticker pad
e. Found all the stickers and ready to head out
f. Open door and exit the room
g. Bonus: Extra interaction outside of the door