Rapture VR is a Psychedelic-Rhythm game running natively on the Oculus Quest 2, exclusively for Hand-Tracking enabled devices.
The premise of the artefact is simple: The Player is a Non-Corporeal being which is trying to transcend by fighting the various aspects which cause humans’ suffering. The artefact focuses on Level 1 – Anger, to give an idea of the possibilities of the systems built around the project.
The idea is to craft an experience where the Player is influenced by the game subconsciously during the timeline of the game using various methods derived from research. One prominent aspect to mention here is how Emotion is integral to how humans learn and process memory. VR is the perfect vehicle to explore this, and I believe that Rapture VR can illustrate some of these concepts applied in practice.
The Project is split into 3 separate systems (1 game Architecture) to be able to achieve the desired effect:
1. A seamless and intuitive Hand-Gesture based system for the games interactions, requiring no controllers building upon the idea that interactions should feel like magic. This helps Immerse the player in the world and help them “get lost” in a more “suggestable” flow state.
2. A Visually Captivating and Immersive Level design with Models and Animations based specifically around each level’s Theme and Topic. A Level that Responds Accordingly to the Players interactions Live and shifts depending on what is happening to further emphasise the emotional impact on the player.
3. A Soundtrack Specifically designed around the theme of each level with the Goal of using Audio as a Narrative Device and Illustrate the idea to the players. The Games Music will be Themed around each Aspect of Human Suffering and the Player’s Battle with them, leaving it to the players to fight the Final Battle in their own minds after.
The Boss In-Game, as well as the Level itself respond Visually both to the Music and the Players interactions with the Main Objective to tie together the Emotional Impact on Players. The hope is that this will have a few impacts on the player after the game’s completion:
1. The Players will Remember and Retain their memories of the Music and the “Battle” between the In-Game Character and the Level Boss due to the Emotional cues. They will hopefully carry this over into further thought after they have played the game and taken off the headset. This will hopefully allow them to embody the Underlying message of hope, love, happiness and that they can Heal, put into each Level Song and Theme.
2. They will have a fun experience with a game made to be as fun as it is impactful. The intuitive gesture system and the Boss-Player mechanics of the fight aim to give the player a challenging experience in order to be able to defeat the boss.
3. They will seek to keep playing until defeating each boss, as that is the only way to unlock the next sequential Thematically, Musically, Mechanically and Visually unique level to progress the game. I believe that Level 1- Anger- represents these ideas quite well and serves as a good overview of how all systems are meant to work together. I believe that the original pitched goals and systems from the Statement of Intent which also match up with ones above have been met to the best of my abilities as I have followed the Statement of Intent as a plan. The Difference is that a lot more Research has been put into Psychology, Emotions and Impact on a Players Perception. I have had to upgrade my development device to Oculus Quest 2 and non-stop playtest with other people to Ensure that the game can “Influence” the player accordingly.
