“Escape” is a VR+PC cross-platform multiplayer game. Two players join the game through VR and PC at the same time and they need to collaborate with each other to win. The game is about saving the player trapped in the game world, by completing all the tasks and returning to reality. The work focuses on exploring VR cross-platform technologies and tries to create shared experiences and social presence through different platforms.
For the trailer of this work, I actually went to the photography shooting booth in the uni and shoot some footage that two players playing this game together.
Storyboard and shooting setup of trailerPicture of trailer shooting
Poster
I also designed the poster for the graduation exhibitions.
The questions are formulated based on questions in the Social Presence in Gaming Questionnaire(SPGQ) and the Network Minds Measure of Social Presence(NMMSP). After removing the repeated and not suitable questions, 10 five-point intensity scale questions are left. In addition, there are four open questions in order to ask players about their social presence and gaming behaviour.
Notes for questionnaire formulating
Questionnaire
Results
Players in general agree that they feel connected to each other (Q3), enjoy being with others (Q4), depended on others (Q6) and the other player’s mood affected their emotional state (Q2). All the participants strongly agreed that players must cooperate and help each other to win the game(Q9).
When asked if one’s opinions were clear to others(Q5), it got an average of 3.9 points. It seems that the original indicating graphics didn’t provide a convenient and direct way for players to communicate. Therefore, in later versions of the game, it was removed and replaced by verbal communication.
Charts of results
Feedbacks
Many participants mentioned that they felt a sense of social presence when they saw the avatar of the other player. Some mentioned that when collaborating with each other, they felt a sense of social presence. For instance, “communicating and guiding each other in order to complete the tasks – e.g. showing which direction to go to and in turn free the pc player character from a room.” or “When we tried to arrive at the same gate and my partner helped me remove obstacles”. Overall, most players give positive feedback and affirm that these types of tasks are helpful to stimulate social presence.
Future Work Suggestions
Many participants suggested that only verbal communication is not enough, especially when they see that VR players can manipulate the avatars and have the ability to show some simple gestures, such as waving, pointing, and making a fist. Some others mentioned the importance of 3D sounds so that the players can distinguish the direction and distance of their partner based on which direction the sound comes from or the volume of the voice. There are also some interesting points mentioned that can be applied to this work in the future, such as tactile feedback or competitive interaction mode.
