Metaversity VR – Early Exploration (Shipped)

Context:
The project focused on creating immersive VR worlds and avatar customization in a metaverse environment. Despite minimal 3D experience, I learned new tools and adapted quickly to meet the challenges of low-poly modeling, animation, and VR world-building.

Key Challenges:

  • Learning Maya and 3D modeling with minimal prior experience.
  • Adhering to strict low-poly constraints for optimized performance.
  • Creating immersive environments and interactive elements in a VR space.
  • Designing intuitive VR UI/UX for seamless user navigation.

3D Modeling & Vertex Coloring

Challenge:

  • Create low-poly models with fewer than 1,000 tris for performance optimization while ensuring visual clarity.
  • Stackability of random objects to create unique environments.

Solution:

  • Modeled various animals (e.g., elephant, skunk, fox, bear, moose), environmental components, singular objects, and user avatar components like clothing, hats, and hairstyles for customization.
  • Used Vertex Chameleon to enhance details by separating vertices into quadrants for more nuanced vertex coloring.

My Role:

  • Modeled animals, objects, and avatar components to fit within the low-poly limitations.
  • Applied vertex coloring techniques to improve the visual appeal of assets while maintaining performance.

Outcome:

  • Delivered optimized and visually appealing assets that met the low-poly constraints, ensuring smooth performance in the VR environment.
Maya Modeling and Vertex Painting

Animation

Challenge:

  • Animate a range of characters, creatures, and gameplay mockups for a diverse VR experience.

Solution:

  • Created animations for humans, unique creatures, animals, and gameplay interactions, ensuring smooth transitions and realism within the VR context.
  • Developed gameplay mockups for object stacking, maintaining less than 1,000 tris for each asset, each fitting within a single cube space.

My Role:

  • Led the animation of various in-game entities, balancing technical constraints with creative expression.

Outcome:

  • The animations contributed to the interactivity and immersion of the metaverse experience, enhancing the user’s engagement with the environment.

VR World Building & Immersion

Challenge:

  • Create themed VR environments that users could explore and interact with, all optimized for performance and immersion.

Solution:

  • Designed multiple immersive worlds for users to explore with their customized avatars, including:
    • Object playground for room building.
    • Themed meeting rooms.
    • Alien World Ride.
    • Noir City.
    • Medieval Fantasy settings.
    • Space-based Hot Air Balloon Ride.
    • Birthday Meetup with animated animal friends.
    • Picnic With Mini-Game.

My Role:

  • Contributed to the design and creation of these worlds, focusing on optimizing assets, animation, and enhancing user immersion.

Outcome:

  • The themed VR environments offered engaging and immersive experiences, allowing users to socialize in and explore diverse worlds with their friends.

VR UI/UX Design

Challenge:

  • Develop intuitive UI/UX for VR players to interact with objects, choose rooms, and navigate within the metaverse.

Solution:

  • Proposed various VR interaction methods, such as:
    • Menus integrated with interactive robots.
    • Floating screens for navigation.
    • A central hub for initial navigation and connection.

My Role:

  • Conceptualized and shared ways to integrate menus and navigation elements naturally within the VR environment to enhance the player’s experience.

Outcome:

  • Designed VR UI/UX systems that made it easy for users to navigate and interact with the virtual world, improving overall usability and player satisfaction.