HW 3: VR Prototyping

The goal of this HW assignment is to practice VR prototyping. You will create a storyboard for planning a VR experience, just like you did in class. Storyboards are like little comics that designers draw to plan out their work. Next time, you will work on building the story that you design here!

Instructions

Download and print the storyboard template here: vr_template.pdf

The template is slightly different from the one used in class, however, it shares the same elements. It consists of 6 frames, each with a scene layout, user view, and description.

Your goal is to create a 2-3 minute VR story that spans 5-6 frames. The story should be related to something that can have a societal benefit or broader impact. See the requirements sections for acceptable topics. For each frame, you need to draw out the scene layout on the left, draw what the user sees from their perspective on the right, and write a short description of what happens at that point in time.

Here is an example to follow:

For your scene layouts, you must draw a top-down view that shows the arrangement of objects in the environment. You should annotate it with text and arrows: point out specific objects that may be difficult to see, objects that move and how they move, and anything else important. You do not need to redraw the entire scene for each frame if it takes place in the same location; however, you must include any important objects and things that moved/changed from the previous frame. No scene view should be left blank!

You must also draw the user view from their perspective. I recommend starting by drawing a horizon line across the middle and use that as your guide (like in the example). Make sure your user views match your scene layouts!

Underneath the user view, you need to provide a description for each frame that tells the story. Remember, a picture tells a thousand words, so the text here should supplement your drawings. Describe the important events, objects, the user's goal, what actions they need to take, etc. for that specific frame.

Bad handwriting?

If I am unable to read your handwriting, I will not be able to grade your design. If you prefer, you may use the PDF to type out your description of each scene before you print it out and draw on it.

Requirements

Your story must be on something that has a societal benefit or broader impact. You can draw awareness to an issue, show the consequences of bad actions, or create empathy by providing someone else's viewpoint. For examples, look at the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Alternatively, if there's a societal issue or something that matters to you personally, feel free to create a story around that.
While your choice of topic must follow the above requirement, your execution can vary. However, you MUST follow the DICE principles for your VR story.
- Be creative! For example, you could show off the clean energy issue by having a cloud of smoke follow behind you wherever you go, killing off all the plants. This would be counterproductive in real life.
- Another example could be to wield a giant vacuum and suck all the plastic out of the ocean. This would be impossible in real life.
Try your best to draw objects; however, don't worry if things look a little wonky or the perspective is off. Not all of us are artists . Make sure your drawings are clear and detailed enough to get the point across.
- Alternatively, if you have digital art skills, you may attempt to complete the HW digitally as well.
The entire story should take around 2-3 minutes to play out. Thus, make sure you have enough content to keep the user engaged.
- Your storyboard must consist of at least 5 frames (the template provides 6 frames).
Scene views should be detailed enough that someone else could create the environment based on your picture.
- Make sure to also include the environment behind the user!

Other Notes

Your stories do not need take place in a large world or even feature multiple environments.
- However, a typical VR story usually spans a few different scenes/environments, so take that into account.
I will likely have you share the stories that you create later, so make sure everything is PG (or mild PG-13 at most).
Make sure that your text and drawings are legible. I am unable to grade them if I can't see or read them!

Submission

There are two submissions: an assignment for uploading your prototype, and a short survey to describe it.

The survey for HW 3 will ask you to describe your VR prototype. Feel free to look at the quiz before you start to understand what is expected.

Make sure to take a high-quality picture or any other method that produces legible scans of your paper prototype.

Grading

Your submission will be graded based on the following criteria:

Criteria	None	Poor	Okay	Good	Total
Topic	0 pts Story topic does not follow requirements	-	-	1 pt Story is on-topic	1
Execution	0 pts Story does not follow DICE principles	-	-	1 pt Story follows DICE principles	1
Scene Layouts	0 pts No significant effort made (e.g. just two stick figures), or illegible	1 pt Many scenes missing, or not detailed enough to reproduce	2 pts Some scenes are missing, or not detailed enough	3 pts Scenes are clearly laid out and properly annotated	3
User Views	0 pts No significant effort made, or illegible	1 pt Many views missing, or doesn't show what happens in the frame	2 pts Some views missing, not detailed enough, or don't match the scene layout	3 pts Views are clearly drawn and illustrate what is happening in each frame	3
Story/Descriptions	0 pts No significant effort made, or illegible	1 pt Descriptions are short/vague, or don't match the drawings	2 pts Story lacks some description, or is too short for a 2-3 min experience	3 pts Story is well-described and clearly highlight goals, events, etc.	3
Canvas Survey	-	-	-	Full credit for answering each question	4
					15 pts