Virtual Couch Multiplayer Gaming

Room:

This will be a hybrid lab-remote course.

Type:

Lab Course (Forschungsprojekt)

Links:

Description

UPDATE 28th of October:

On November 3rd 2pm. there will be an information meeting in the associated moodle course. After this date, you will have time to make a final registration for the project. In order to participate in the meeting, please register in the LSF for the course. We will then send you access data for the moodle course, where the information event will take place via video conference.

Task: Adapt existing Unity Project and conduct user study.

This lab course will explore ways in how we play games together over distance in the future. The current Covid-19 crisis with its social distancing measures boosted the need for technology-based communication. It has motivated many providers and developers to make their social VR solutions available free of charge for working or spending time together. Even though there are already solutions for social interaction over distance (video chat, telephony, online games), social VR solutions promise a realistic experience never seen before by using VR technology. In summary: It feels like you are actually together. But how much does the virtual experience resemble its real counterpart? And to what extent does the VR experience differ from a simple discord call?

To answer these questions, students will have to adapt an existing social VR application that allows two remote users to play simple multiplayer-games in a virtual living room together. The adaptation concerns the avatar design, game design, and social interaction design. Subsequently, the adapted app will be used in a comparative user study that investigates the social experience of playing together in VR, remotely on desktop PC, and co-located on a physical couch.

Target Audience

MA Komedia, MAI