Module 12: Virtual Reality
Google Cardboard- An Entry-Level VR Headset
Google Cardboard VR is the only VR set I personally own. It is an entry-level VR headset due to its low cost. There are a plethora of options for headsets, with the option of custom building your own. Most Cardboard headsets are of course made out of cardboard, keeping costs low because the only expensive part of the headset is the lenses. Many options of the cardboard are cheap and cost under $10. The headsets are made with standards set by Google. Developers can use a special fork of UE4 to develop for Google VR, and there are also options for Unity.
Cardboard 2.0 headsets that properly conform to the standard:
Have QR codes to be read by the Google Cardboard app for setup.
Have a magnet on the side to act as a selection button.
Headstraps are not standard.
My headset is the Viewmaster VR headset, which can be found at several retail stores. It uses the cardboard standard, but is made of plastic instead. It comes with a plastic reel that can be scanned by Viewmaster VR apps to unlock extras. It has a plastic lever on the side to act as the selection button. The image looks pretty good on my Nexus 5 and will look better with other phones with screen resolutions of 1080p or higher. There is no headstrap for this headset, sadly. There is also no cut-out for the headphone jack, so you will either have to use the phone's speakers (there's a speaker grill on the headset to let audio through) or use bluetooth headphones.
Cardboard 2.0 headsets that properly conform to the standard:
Have QR codes to be read by the Google Cardboard app for setup.
Have a magnet on the side to act as a selection button.
Headstraps are not standard.
My headset is the Viewmaster VR headset, which can be found at several retail stores. It uses the cardboard standard, but is made of plastic instead. It comes with a plastic reel that can be scanned by Viewmaster VR apps to unlock extras. It has a plastic lever on the side to act as the selection button. The image looks pretty good on my Nexus 5 and will look better with other phones with screen resolutions of 1080p or higher. There is no headstrap for this headset, sadly. There is also no cut-out for the headphone jack, so you will either have to use the phone's speakers (there's a speaker grill on the headset to let audio through) or use bluetooth headphones.
Viewmaster VR- a futuristic take on a classic toy.
Cons:
Quality depends on the screen resolution of your device.
No headstrap makes it difficult to play games with.
Generally less comfortable.
Too many options, some headsets don't properly conform to Cardboard 2.0 standards and may lack the magnet/selection button.
Requires a phone with a good enough graphics chip (usually not a problem for most people).
Many phones overheat from heavy load on the graphics chip and the heaset encapsulating the device.
Drains phone battery rapidly.
Will it stick? Definitely. The headset is so inexpensive and almost everyone has a smartphone. This is where the largest market is.
Google Cardboard Design Principles
The nice thing is, Google has made a very useful app to learn how to make a VR game. It's called "Cardboard Design Lab" and can be found here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.vr.cardboard.apps.designlab
It shows some nice visuals and discusses how an experience in the cardboard should look and feel.
The following information is from the "foundation" section of the app.
1. Overlay a visual aid or "reticle" to make targeting objects easier. The best reticles are unobtrusive and react to interactive elements in the environment.
2. Text legibility: besides the usual font size, contrast, and spacing, VR adds the new element of depth as a new factor to consider to make text legible.
- 0.5 meters- too close, causes too much eye strain.
- 1 meter- the near end for comfortable UI. Place text here only if it needs to appear in front of other text.
4. Reference points are needed for the user to tell what object is moving in relation to another. The example asks the question if you are moving or if the blocks are moving.
5. Don't lose your head! Maintain smooth, low latency head tracking and always make sure that at least one element in a scene maintains head tracking.
The following information is from the "immersion" section of the app.
6. A simple way to draw the user's attention to a spot is to use lighting cues.
7. Set a scale to show how large the character is in comparison to objects in the environment.
8. Spatial Audio- using 3D audio is an effective way to immerse a user in the environment.
9. Gaze Cues- use cursors or arrows to show the user where to look if you want them to look at a specific space to trigger an event.
10. Optimize your visuals to scale to the resolution of the screen. The better it looks, the more effect the illusion of VR has on immersion.
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