VR: creating a bridge between story and experience?

VR: creating a bridge between story and experience? Virtual Revolution Conference 2016, 1-3 March 2016 Marnix van Gisbergen (gisbergen.m@nhtv.nl)Lector Digital Media Concepts

ADE promotes, coordinates, and conducts research and innovation activities in the areas of games and digital media, with a focus on engaging playful experiences in digitally enhanced realities (DER). ADE designs and studies engaging playful experiences, for their intrinsic capacity (entertainment and fun) and for impact (learning, change) Academy for Digital Entertainment (all about games and media)

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Mijn 1e werkstuk (1985)VR helm, zo hee dat zou gaaf zijn

Google 2004 and Apple 2013

ITS HAPPENINGNot a concept anymoreBefore Within After

VR and film: big battle between the control and freedom freaks

What makes VR different?

Cant AVOID toApproach a new medium in terms of its predecessors McLuhan Car horseless carriageTelevision radio with picturesWebsite brochure that movesVR movie with 360o vision?

Almost always technology driven innovationSo we use a technology driven concept descriptionAlmost always complementary mediumSo we use a theoretical concept description

Theoretical conceptSome form ofExperiencePresenceImmersionStory absorption

What makes VR different?

VisualInteractionControlLocation

combination

Visual

Freedom control, to lookWhere (360)WhatHow oftenWhen (order)How longPerspective (+ angle)

Currently: very shortMANY TO ONE EXPERIENCE

Attention: Miss, miss important, wrong moment, no information (what did they see)No control: Not use different shots (camera perspectives)360 film camera all is always vissible (decoration and technical problems)9

YouActorVisibleObserveParticipateYou

NoYesActorGeneric

Story participation

Continuum: generic can be partly formatted to you (eg based on gender congruence)Actor: can also be object, or service (follow an idea or car etc.)Vissible: before, during and/ or afterCombination: you are actor (part of the story)10

Dyskinetic 2014CREDITS: Oscar Bastiaens (project lead), Brenden Gibbons ( Writer & technical lead) and Attila Kenyeres (production lead)

Feel like a helpless coma patient while your family is discussing your future beside you

Experience a story of a coma patient

Negative: less overall experiencee.g., Disruptive narrative exposure or overexpectation

Jaunt: Zombie Purge

New Deal studios and Jaunt: The Mission

Jaunt: Other Space

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Kite & Lightening: Insurgent shattered reality

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The Prism 2015CREDITS: Oscar Bastiaens (director), Hanna Syrett, Anneliene van den Boom, Tim van Leeuwerden & Ruben Wijnheijmer (writers), David Eeles, Leila Grey & Loveday Smith (actors) and many many othersExperience a betrayal dilemma within an interrogation room

De drie films gaan allemaal over n verhaallijn die zich afspeelt in een verhoorruimte van een politiebureau. Het verhaal, de dialogen, de bewegingen van de acteurs blijven hetzelfde, maar de perspectieven verschillen per film. Zo bekijk je in n film de situatie vanuit de kant van de verhoorder, een andere film laat je situatie als verhoorde ervaren, en tot slot kun je ook kiezen om alles te bekijken vanuit een observeerruimte. Iedere film leert je iets nieuws over de situatie in het politiebureau met zijn eigen perspectief. Het is aan de kijker om uit te puzzelen wat er precies gebeurd is. Het schrijven van een script was dan ook een hele puzzel. Iedere film geeft namelijk andere hints weg die voor de ander verborgen moeten blijven. Dan komt er ook nog eens bij dat de kijker geen invloed kan hebben in het verhaal, het blijft immers een film. Om alle films interessant te maken heeft het team van scriptschrijvers hard gewerkt en een geweldig script neergezet.

Buiten de inhoud van de film is er op technisch gebied ook veel veranderd. De twee GoPro s waar de film van vorig jaar mee gefilmd werd zijn vervangen door een nieuwe - door het Creative Lab ontworpen - camerastandaard waar vier spiegelreflexcameras op bevestigd worden. In combinatie met een viertal fisheye-lenzen kan hier 360 graden mee gefilmd worden. Deze films komen dan ook het best tot hun recht wanneer je ze bekijkt met een Oculus Rift. Met deze VR-bril heb je de volledige controle over waar je heen kijkt terwijl de film zich rond jou afspeelt. Waar vorig jaar een Oculus Rift Development Kit 1 werd gebruikt heeft het Creative Lab dit jaar zijn zinnen gezet op de opvolger namelijk de DK2. De beeldkwaliteit is aanzienlijk verbeterd en hierdoor zijn zelfs de kleinste details te zien.Wil je dit zelf ervaren?Het Creative Lab zal met The Prism op de Oculus Rift aanwezig zijn op Go Short zodat je je zelf de puzzel kunt uitvogelen. 17

CHOICE: interrogator, interrogated or observerA matter of perspective

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A female character (Emma) is being questioned by two police officers. The story is set in an interrogation room of with a one-way mirror. Emma seems to have no clue why she is being questioned and gets all her clues on why she is there from the officers.

MethodEnjoy, feel presence?Differ between perspectives?MeasuresThe Sense Of Presence Inventory (SOPI)Spatial Presence (19 items)Engagement (13 items)Naturalness (5 items)Negative Effects (6 items) Enjoyment (PAM / PANAS)Before after emotions 4 negative and 4 positive

DesignExperimental set-upCompare 3 groups / 30 minutesHMD Oculus Rift DK2Free 3600 looking movementsUnity 5 & Windows 8 & Sennheiser HDContentSeven Minute MovieDifficult: same story in conditions

PeopleStudents: 17-29 (51% female)NHTV University of Applied SciencesMore females in actor conditionNo other differences (e.g., VR experiences)41% used VR HMD before

(Excited, Tense, Cheerful, Irritated, Relaxed, Sad, Calm, Bored) on a point Likert scale 1 (Very Slightly or Not at) to 5 (Extremely) 20

ResultsIt worksHigh in enjoyment. High in presence, engagement, naturalness and low in negative effects in both conditions.

EqualAlmost no differences between conditions, except.

ActorScored significantly better on spatial presence

There is also effect of high expectationsAn example of such a sensoryinput is the experience of being addressed by the characters in a movie and thus being (forced to be)involved in the plot as is suggested by an actor POV.I felt I could interact with the displayed environment I felt that the characters and/or objects could almost touch me I felt I was visiting the places in the displayed environment I felt I wasn't just watching something I had the sensation that I moved in response to parts of the displayed environment I had a sense of being in the scenes displayed I felt that I could move objects (in the displayed environment) I could almost smell different features of the displayed environment I had the sensation that the characters were aware of me I had a strong sense of sounds coming from different directions within the displayed environment I felt surrounded by the displayed environment I felt I could have reached out and touched things (in the displayed environment) I sensed that the temperature changed to match the scenes in the displayed environment I felt that all my senses were stimulated at the same time I felt able to change the course of events in the displayed environment I felt as though I was in the same space as the characters and/or objects I had the sensation that parts of the displayed environment (e.g. characters or objects) were responding to me It felt realistic to move things in the displayed environment I felt as though I was participating in the displayed environment I felt sad that my experience was over I had a sense that I had returned from a journey I would have liked the experience to continue I vividly remember some parts of the experience I'd recommend the experience to my friends I felt myself being 'drawn in' I felt involved (in the displayed environment) I lost track of time I enjoyed myself My experience was intense I paid more attention to the displayed environment than I did to my own thoughts (e.g., personal preoccupations, daydreams etc.) I responded emotionally The content appealed to me The displayed environment seemed natural The content seemed believable to me I felt that the displayed environment was part of the real world The scenes depicted could really occur in the real world I had a strong sense that the characters and objects were solid It felt like the content was 'live' I felt disorientated I felt tired I felt dizzy I felt I had eyestrain I felt nauseous I felt I had a headache 21

Next stepsDesign?Optimize for experiment versus medium or perspectiveCharacter: no lines in AP, no interaction possibleActive experimental context (instead of lazy viewing context)VR Experience?Overarching effect (no) experience VRAlthough we controlled for VR experience (equal in groups): experience is low (DK2), thus (expected) enjoyment is highNew Medium?(design to) Want to interact based on the design?Movie VR - Game

Thank you for your attentionFor a copy: gisbergen.m@nhtv.nl and/ or visit our stand

There is also effect of high expectations23