The entire first week was an adrenaline rollercoaster of new information and imagery.
We got introduced to our first brief which was to create a VR & AR experience, reflecting design principles for immersive media and XR concepts. While learning about coherence and presence in VR, it was interesting to learn about how we can either use the same principles or break the rules and create experiences against it.
“If VR can make people feel comfortable in experiences, how can I make it uncomfortable on purpose?”
IDEATION
While thinking about the same for my project, I got the idea of – A simple game of confusion
It’s a simple game where there are different colored shapes coming at you, with completely different color names. Ex : A red circle with green written on it, A blue circle with red written on it and the prompt saying “Slash the red circle”. Because our brain sees the color before reading text, the player will slash a red circle.
THE FEELING: As the player progresses to different spaces, the elements and space get more confusing making the player frustrated and annoyed and seriously testing their patience.
Example
– Stairs that go up when you start walking
– You enter the space and it shifts upside down
– The walls start caving in
– The walls are spinning around you
– Soft floor & Ice floor
– Sudden cliffs, falling
RESEARCH
Looking at various works from James Turrel, I was inspired by the way he uses only light as a medium where he creates an experience of “Ganzfeld”: a German word to describe the phenomenon of the total loss of depth perception as in the experience of a white-out.
If smell can trigger a memory, can light?
Keeping this question in my mind, I started looking at the effects of color on the brain
Can the interior color of space, change the mood of the visitor?
Can color induce psychedelic effects on the user? (Yes 😉 )
Can we trick the brain into making a person feel warm in the winter?
What are the different types of confusion?