Lifted

Concept

During our class, the readings and discussions made me think about how we embody our digital avatar and simultaneously detached from them. For example, we want to have the option to make our digital avatars represent our physical likeness. However, there is an appetite for extreme violence simulated in the digital space. I want to explore the context in which digital avatars in exist. Specifically, making interaction that direct the player to be aware their digital avatar as a body.

Game Mechanics

Player is trapped in an apartment. There are body-part-looking balloons spread around in the apartment.

As player approach the balloons, the fixed balloons starts to arise higher into the air. If the player does not go and grab the balloon, the corresponding body part of the player avatar will disappear.

If the player successfully collect all of the body-part-looking balloons. The player will be lifted up by the balloons and escape the apartment. Otherwise, the player will be trapped in the room forever.

Technical Challenges

• Separate my 3D model into parts
• Apply customized force for objects
• Add triggers for the customized force to be applied to the balloons and the player avatar
• Create rope prefabs with physics
• Connect ropes to balloons
• Add third person camera that follows the player
• Balloons follow the player once it is grabbed
• Avatar’s animation setup in game
  • Retargeting - using standard assets animations applied to my avatar
  • Using Trigger condition in animator
• Make Avatar’s corresponding body part disappear when lose the balloon

My solution - what I did & to dos for the future

I added constant force for each game object, so I don’t have to mess with the global gravity setting.

There are rope simulations plugins in Unity store. I want to learn a simple way I can easily recreate for other projects in the future

• Created 11 capsules objects
• Nested them in a chain, and added a Character Joint to each of them
• Add a script that attach each rope section to its parent on game starts

For Avatar’s movement animation, I did retargeting. Applied the animations to my 3d model. Also added trigger condition to start a animation.

In order to trigger a change in the force that is applied to the balloons, I added a transparent trigger box to balloon prefabs.

To dos

1. Change the material of the models’ body parts
2. Improve the visual design of the games
3. Better camera tracking
4. Grab the rope

Game Play

Feedback

I’d like to know what everyone’s first impression of the game was? Did the game design reflects the conceptual goal? What can be improved in the game to get the point across?