SpaceCard VR User Interface & User Experience Design
User Interface Architecture There were three main components of the user interface split into 3 vertical zones. The top vertical zone, just above the user’s main line of sight was dedicated to status information and menu toggles. The second and central vertical zone was the interactive environment which took up the majority of central visual real estate. The third vertical zone was just below the user’s main line of sight and was dedicated to locomotion.
Top Vertical Zone Menu & Countdown The top vertical zone was used to engage the main menu and focus the user on time remaining in the sesion with a horizontal progress bar. These two components were always within sight, and were engaged with a gaze gesture to minimize the user from lifting their hand in high and uncomfortable positions. The menu was used to manage objects in the space, and change perspective of the experience. Once the 10 minute counter expired, the user would be requested to take off the visor and take a break.
Bottom Vertical Zone Locomotion Due to the lack of 6DoF we decided to use hand gestures to translate into user movement within the virtual environment. We created a singular button below the users line of sight in the bottom vertical zone. Once this button was engaged, the user would be moved forward based on their hand movement. This was an extremely difficult technical challenge as many users would be susceptible to motion sickness with z translation in VR. We solved this problem by using hand Z movement acceleration to drive the virtual camera movement in real time and simulate a ‘swimming’ experience. The gesture to move forward was similar to tapping a set of drums with both hands, but created a comfortable and physiologically acceptable method of moving through the space while ‘fooling’ the user into thinking they are moving with a button press. The inclusion of stepping sound effects further reinforced the sensation of walking.
Central Vertical Zone Object Mechanics The central vertical zone was used to tap, drag and interact with the virtual environment. Gestures would be utilized to manipulate the environment in ways never before possible in mobile VR. Objects also had their own interactive menus that provided simple functionality like move, delete, rotation etc.
Perspective & Space Toggle We felt it was critically important for the user to be able to easily manipulate the space they are in by offering various vantage and access points for the user to teleport to. This need for easy movement was also further enhanced by allowing the user to toggle between variations of the space, and different spaces altogether in a seamless manner.
Central Vertical Zone Object Mechanics The central vertical zone was used to tap, drag and interact with the virtual environment. Gestures would be utilized to manipulate the environment in ways never before possible in mobile VR. Objects also had their own interactive menus that provided simple functionality like move, delete, rotation etc.
