Personal Observations/Progress
- Still inspired by the Launchpad Bootcamp
- Joined the Oculus Launchpad FB Group
- After setting up the Gear VR, I downloaded roughly three dozen different apps and videos. My initial findings are that the S7 is really limited in the LOD it can render and heats up rather quickly. The controller seemed to work well initially, but after a few days it became really hard to get the bluetooth to recognize it. Of the apps I downloaded, the most memorable/impressive ones are: Face Your Fears (Jason Rubin's mention), Land's End (Monument Valley guys) and Dead and Buried. Among those, Face Your Fears was probably the most impressive, but it really caused the S7 to heat up fast. The key takeaway I have is that the device is still very limited in the number of polygons and textures it can render. As a result, I am really going to have to give serious thought to how I can pull off my project for Gear VR. I'm leaning more toward the Rift, but the audience for my project is likely Gear VR users.
- Went to E3 this weeks and was surprised by how few VR booths there were this year. Last year Oculus and many other VR companies had a large presence. Even the PSVR space was limited in the Sony booth. I would've expected a larger VR turnout given it was the first year the show was open to the public. I think it sends a message that VR is still this fringe tech that regular folks won't have access to.
Production Progress
Task 1: Concept Art Phase
I need to find a concept artist to help with the design of the characters and angels. The high-poly models I have and generate through Fuse are too detailed for the Gear VR. I'll need to have a style that will be better suited for low-poly environments. Here are my sketches for the Angels.
Task 2: Set (A REALISTIC) Project Scope
'Where Angels Meet' is currently written as a 13 scene experience, with each scene roughly 1-2 minutes in length. However, given the timeframe of the program, I will likely have to focus on one scene for the final submission on Sept 10th. I've thought about the project a lot this past week and considered whether or not the Gear VR or Rift would be the best platform. I'm leaning toward the Gear VR for the submission, which really limits what I can do, but in a way it will be a good exercise in telling a story with minimal visual crutches.
My plan is to build out, animate and deliver the first scene from 'Where Angels Meet' for the final submission. This will serve as both a demo and the perfect setup for the full story. Everything I've done up to now is pretty much useless. I'm going to target the Gear VR initially, which will be fine given that the key is to tell the story FIRST. I can always leverage the animations and build out more elaborate sets for the Rift down the road. Now that I've got a clear mandate, I've decided to tailor the script to reflect a single scene which starts the story, yet is long enough to give viewers an understanding of the full experience.