Lane Department of Computer Science and
Electrical Engineering
Individual Research Paper
Final Draft
Group 4: Centennial Eagle
Joshua McCoy
Table of Contents
Abstract...........................................................................................................................................3
Background.....................................................................................................................................4
Needs...............................................................................................................................................5
Needs Hierarchy..............................................................................................................................6
Objectives........................................................................................................................................6
Objective Tree..................................................................................................................................8
Stakeholders.....................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................11
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Abstract
The video game industry is always about wanting to give the player the experience that
they are actually apart of the universe that the game is set it. This experience of immersion
started with that arcade games back in the 1970s with a joystick/steering wheel, simple level
design, and very simple characters and as evolve into using controllers with very complicated
level design and characters that are almost human-like. These games allow the player to create
their own character (sometimes) and explore the world however they please (sometimes).
Our project plans on taking the immersion factor and pushing the limits of it even further
with virtual reality. The project will have the player physically interact with the universe they
are playing in, instead of being an observer of the game. Our game idea (asteroid escape game)
is not particular special and can even be consider old school, but how the player experiences the
game is where it becomes new.
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Background
The video game industry is very young. The industry started in the 1970s with arcade
games and has evolved to gaming console like the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. The overall
industry is only about 40 years old. The industry has also been one of the most successful with
revenue of $62 billion in 2012 and a projected $82 billion by 2017 (Gaudiosi).
The first set of games were simple graphically and gameplay wise. Most of these games
were 8-bit games and the objective was to survive as long as they (the player) could without
dying to reach a high score. Now most games run at 30-60 fps (frames per second) and have
objectives that don’t only include surviving as long as they could. They now include
rescuing/protecting people, disarming bombs, etc. If a game does not mix the right balance with
the types of objectives that the player has to do throughout the game. The game will become
unpopular quickly and will not sell.
How the player interacts with the games has also evolved over the years. The first game
had the player mostly interacting with a joystick or a steering wheel. Then when home gaming
consoles were release, the player used a controller with one or two joystick, a d-pad (directional
pad), and a varying amount of buttons. These controller characteristics vary between consoles,
but are similar overall. PC gaming differs from console gaming because those player use a
keyboard and mouse (most of the time). The player has been stuck with this type of interact for a
couple of decades now until the Nintendo Wii arrive and had players interact more physically
with the game. The Wii deployed a wireless controller that will track the player’s movement.
After this innovation, Sony and Microsoft have come up with their own variation of the Wii’s
controller. The most notable controller is Microsoft’s Kinect that requires just your body.
These controllers are excellent, but still do not provide the immersion and interaction that
a player wants to have with the universe they are in. The industry is always want to have the
player feel a part of the universe that they are in, but the technology has not been available to
make that dream come true. The Oculus Rift believes in has the answer to this problem with a
virtual reality experience with the ability to track head movement. The Rift provides a 90 degree
horizontal field of view with a screen for each eye that has a resolution of 640x800 (one eye)
(Lang). The Rift is also light (weight: 379 grams) which is nice since it will be on the player’s
head (Lang). The Oculus will not solve all of the immersion and interaction factors though since
it only tracks head movement and the player will still need to use some time of controller. Sony
and Valve think they also have a solution to the gamers’ immersion and interaction problem, but
it will probably be a similar solution to the Rift (Ruscher) (Yin-Poole). Hopefully the gaming
industry will have a system that will use every movement with no controller (Ex: Kinect
combined with Rift capabilities) to create a fully immersive and interactive game.
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Needs
The gaming industry needs there games taken to the next level for players to want to keep
playing. The only way this can be done is to provide a more interactive and immersive
experience to the game. This can now be done with more success that in the past with the rise of
certain technologies that can provide this experience for the player. But to be able to meet this
need, certain things will be required for the player to what to play our game.
The first piece of technology that the project uses is the Oculus Rift. The Oculus Rift
will provide a virtual reality experience for the player so they feel like they are in the game. The
Rift allows the player to be able to use their head to look around the environment. The game will
have to be developed with the thought that the player will be able to look around instead of just a
stationary camera. The Rift will provide most of the immersion factor for the game.
The second piece of technology that the project uses is a gaming chair so the player can
have the feeling of flight. The chair will need to be able to provide feedback to the player. The
two forms of feedback will be vibration and jarring. These two forms of feedback will come
from crashing into an asteroid, their ship getting shot at, and the player shooting asteroids/ships.
The chair will provide more of an interactive factor to the game since it will mimic what is
happening in the game.
The third and final piece of technology that the project uses is a gaming headset to
provide surround sound to the game. A couple of examples of gaming headset are Turtle
Beaches and Astros. This will need to be integrated with the Rift so the sound will be in sync
with the game.
The next need is to integrate the gaming chair and the Oculus Rift together to make an
arcade cabinet. The cabinet will combine the immersive factor of the Rift’s virtual reality
experience and the chair interactive experience to create a full immersive and interactive
experience.
The last need of the arcade cabinet will be how it looks. The look of the cabinet is
important because it will make the buyer think about how it will look in their home/store. If it
doesn’t look appealing for the home/store, they might not buy it. This will also help the group so
that adjustments and parts can be replaced with ease if necessary.
If these needs come together for the final product, the product should be able to provide
an immersive and interactive experience. That experience, could be told to the player’s friends,
family, etc. and they might try our product. This would be the need the group wants to meet
(social need).
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Needs Hierarchy
The needs hierarchy is ranked on the importance of each level of development and/or
integration. These needs are sorted by importance with the top being the most important need:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Game development for the Oculus Rift
Built gaming chair
Integration of Oculus Rift with gaming chair
Integration of gaming headset to Rift
Overall look of cabinet
The third need is expected to be the most different need to be completed, but can’t be started
until needs one and two are completed. The fourth need helps to provide a more immersive
experience, but is not necessary in the long run. The fifth need will make things easier for the
player using the product and easier for the group to fix parts, but is not need at all.
Objectives
The objective of the project will be to make a flight simulator (asteroid escape) game that
will be eventually integrated into an arcade cabinet. The arcade cabinet will provide an
immersive and interactive game for the player that new but still familiar at the same time. Our
objectives will be broken down into two major subcategories: hardware and software.
The first objective of our project will be to develop a flight simulator game. A game
engine needed to be chosen to complete this task. There are a two major game engine that are
compatible with the Rift, Unreal and Unity. The engine that was selected for the game was the
Unreal engine and the reason behind this decision was cost. After extensive research, the Unreal
and Unity engines offer about the same amount of features, but the Unreal engine was free
compared to the Unity engine.
The second objective will be to integrate the game with the Rift. This should be a
seamless transition since Unreal is fully support with the Rift. The group will need to make sure
that the game will comply with the heading tracking that the Rift supports. This will be the first
stage of creating our immersive and interactive game.
The third objective will be to build the gaming chair. The gaming chair called the
AceSim JoyRider will be design to integrate with the Rift so that the flight simulator game will
have an immersive and interactive experience (JoyRider Virtual Flyer). The AceSim JoyRider
will be tested to make sure it works properly by performing multiple tilts.
The fourth objective will be to integrate the AceSim JoyRider with the Oculus Rift. This
objective will be testing the latency issues between the AceSim JoyRider and the Oculus Rift so
the player will have a fun, immersive, and interactive experience.
The fifth objective will be to develop feedback for the AceSim JoyRider to correspond to
the actions in the game. The feedback that would be implemented is vibration and jarring. The
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vibration would feel normal throughout the game since it’s the overall experience of flying in
general. The jarring would come from the result of running into an asteroid or getting shot at.
The sixth objective is to have surround sound in the game. A game would not be
interactive and immersive without sound. The major point would be for the player to heard
wants going on around him/her. The sound will be able to tell the player how far away the object
is. The sound will also need to be in sync with the game to create a great experience.
The final objective, but not as major, is the overall look of the cabinet. The cabinet needs
to be laid out well so that adjustments can be made as necessary and the buyer of our product
would want it in his/her apartment, store, etc.
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Objective Tree
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Stakeholders
With our project there are three major stakeholders who will be involved. The first group
of stakeholders is Epic Games. The second group of stakeholders is gamers (people who will
buy our product). The third and final group is West Virginia University.
The first group of stakeholders is Epic Games. Epic Games is the company that created
the Unreal Engine that will be licensed to create our game. The Unreal Engine is free to use as
long as the game does not make over $50,000 (Epic Games). The group plans on not having
legal issues with Epic Games, but if the game does make over $50,000, royalties will be paid to
them since the game couldn’t have been made without them.
The second group of stakeholders is the gamers. These are the people that will be using
the arcade cabinet. The group hopes to be able to provide an experience that will be immersive
and interactive for every player and that their experiences with our game will be talk about for
years to come.
The third and final group is West Virginia University. This group is funded our project
and they hold ownership in the final product. The final product can also be use for future groups
to develop multiple games for the cabinet.
There is no conflicting interest between the three stakeholders. All three of the
stakeholders contribute to either the making of the product or use of the product. The product
should not have any conflicting interest in the future either.
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Conclusion
The project will be very difficult in very many aspects. The group has no experience in
creating a gaming experience like this or one in general. The group has played many different
games over the years though; this will work in our favor because the group has seen the great and
horrible aspects of those games. This experience should help in creating a game that the player
will want to play.
This project should show the future of the gaming industry. Right now, virtual reality is
in its infancy with the Oculus Rift, but a decade for now, virtual reality might be a normal
experience with gaming. The project is a great way to get a head start with working on the latest
technology in the gaming industry. The industry has a whole changes really fast and is hard to
keep up with the changes.
The project should be continued in the future since it’s a great way to learn how to make
a game if the person is interested in the gaming industry. The project is also a great way to
challenge both the hardware and software aspects of the person knowledge since the AceSim
Joyrider and Oculus Rift has to work in unison to create an immersive and interactive experience
for the player. If the AceSim Joyrider and Oculus Rift don’t work in unison, the player will not
have an enjoyable experience.
The video game industry has been one of the leading ways of entertainment lately. The
best way to show is by the sheer amount of Youtube videos around for reviews, playthroughs,
etc. The problem with video games though, is that if the games don’t evolve, players won’t play
anymore and the industry will die. Hopefully virtual reality is the next step in gaming for players
to keep playing.
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Bibliography
Gaudiosi, John. "New Reports Forecast Global Video Game Industry Will Reach $82 Billion By 2017."
Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 18 July 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/07/18/new-reports-forecasts-global-videogame-industry-will-reach-82-billion-by-2017/>.
"JoyRider Virtual Flyer." JoyRider Virtual Flyer. Ace Sim RC, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.acesim.com/main.html>.
Lang, Ben. "HMD Specs Comparison: Oculus Rift vs. Silicon Micro Display ST1080 vs. Sony HMZ-T1." Road
to Virtual Reality. Road to VR, 11 Aug. 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.roadtovr.com/hmd-specs-comparison-oculus-rift-vs-silicon-micro-display-st1080vs-sony-hmz-t1/>.
Ruscher, Wesley. "Sony Filing Patents for VR Headset Technology." Destructoid. Destructoid, 9 Nov.
2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. <http://www.destructoid.com/sony-filing-patents-for-vr-headsettechnology-265281.phtml>.
"Unreal Game Engine Technology." Unreal Engine News RSS. Epic Games, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
<https://www.unrealengine.com/udk/licensing/purchase/>.
Yin-Poole, Wesley. "Valve Set to Demo Its Own Virtual Reality Hardware." Eurogamer.net. Eurogamer,
19 Nov. 2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. <http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-11-19-valve-setto-demo-its-own-virtual-reality-hardware>.
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