Goldfish
Context
2019 Reality Virtually Hackathon at MIT Media Lab
Overview
In most VR games, we are sitting in a small space alone looking into a boundless world. What if we revert the dynamic, experience VR in a swimming pool, free from the constraint of gravity while we interact with the environment above us? How does it feel like being a small fish looking at the world outside of the fish bowl?
With these questions in mind, my collaborator Roland and I decided to create an VR experience that resembles life through the lens of a goldfish at the 2019 Reality Virtually Hackathon at MIT Media Lab. We pitched our ideas to 300+ hackathon attendees and formed a group of designers and developers with expertise in game and sound and a passion for creating joyful interactions.
My Role
Art & Tech Director, Interactive Producer
Team
Roland Arnoldt, Art & Tech Director, Interactive Producer
Huiyi Chen, Game Designer & Developer
Maxime Gautier, Sound Designer & Developer
Connor Henley, Game Developer
Tools
Unity, Leap Motion, Wwise
Timeline
January 2019, 3.5 days
User Scenario
Two players are involved. Player 1 is put into the perspective of a goldfish via a VR headset and a Leap motion that turns his/her hands into fins. Player 1 explores the fish tank world he/she lives in. Player 2 is given a physical cat paw with a tracker attached and is expected to perform as a cat. Player 2 uses his/her paw to attack Player 1 where his/her claw will appear in Player 1’s point of view.
Player 2
Player 1
Production
With only 3.5 days to complete a working prototype, we kicked off production immediately after forming our team. We went through the concept together and divided up tasks based on our interest and expertise: Roland to create and attach fins to user’s hands in Leap Motion, oversee fabrication and manage production pipeline with me, Huiyi and I to design the game environment and visual effects in Unity, Maxime to develop the overall soundscape with Wwise and Connor to build the player interaction.
User Testing
For the first round of user testing, we asked other hackathon attendees to try out our prototype. We realized that the virtual cat paw appeared to be effective due to users’ responses. Many users found the approaching claw scary.
Fabrication
Besides using software, Roland and I also built a physical cat paw out of recycling materials we found at MIT’s junkyard and attached it to a tracker.
The Result
Within the 3.5 days of hackathon, we successfully delivered a proof-of-concept and a working prototype of Goldfish.
View our code documentation.
We showcased our project at Reality Virtually’s Public Expo on January 21, 2019 to friends and family of the MIT Media Lab as well as the local and greater XR communities. Little kids loved our project — especially when given the cat paw to attack Player Goldfish! Adults enjoyed Goldfish too! It was a competition for some users. Some Goldfish Players liked to fight back while others simply enjoyed the haptic feedback offered by the cat paw.
Reflection
Within the 3.5 days of hackathon, we successfully delivered a working prototype of Goldfish which includes interactions for both goldfish and cat players. We didn’t win any awards but we were very happy that we not only created a project that brought so much joy into people’s lives but also bonded with so many interdisciplinary minds who shared the same passion for innovative storytelling.
Moving forward, We would like to experiment how the sensations of our project can be enhanced by submerging in a swimming pool. We are also interested in how haptics can improve motor functions and hand accuracy of stroke and Parkinson's patients and would like to work with institutions to extend our research. We also envision Goldfish to be an interactive installation at an aquarium or a science museum.