Apocalypse Chill
A Virtual Reality experience
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Apocalypse Chill: Build your chillout zone and
escape the end of the world in VR.
SERVICES
UX designer
3D Designer
VR designer
THROUGH THE PROCESS
Apocalypse Chill is a first-person virtual reality
escape room. The game begins next to an empty pool,
and the user has 15 minutes to build a bonfire,
construct a chillout area with different elements
from two rooms, and light the fire. It was modelled
in Maya, texturised in Photoshop, and developed in
Unity using the Universal Render Pipeline (URP), a
Unity rendering solution optimised for graphics
performance, and the Unity XR Interaction Toolkit
(XRI), a set of tools that makes it easy to create
interactive virtual reality (VR) experiences.
Challenges
The three-people team's challenge was to create an immersive
3D world with three distinct scenes where the
user could follow clues and overcome challenges
to escape the end of the world within a time
limit. The puzzle experience consists of
collecting elements from one side and placing
them in the correct location to complete the task.
Designing a 3D world
I modelled in Maya and texturised in Photoshop the game's exterior scenery within the three
buildings: the temple, the castle, and the ruins, as well as
the mountains, dead trees, and the pool with two Japanese style
bridges. To complete it, I placed an equirectangular photo
of the sky while my colleagues modelled the two rooms with
their elements and the objects to create the resting place.
UX UI design in VR
We offered users tips and suggestions before each
scene with a hint panel. In the bedroom scenes, we
created a HUD-like user interface with icons of
the items the user needs. After placing the items
in the highlighted box, the icon turns green.
During gameplay, the timer is located in the upper
right corner of the HUD. In-game, a soft, light
sound can be heard, but the music increases the
tension at the four-minute mark. If the user
completes the objective in time, the congratulatory
cutscene appears. Otherwise, the game-over cutscene
appears.
Results
Completing a VR project like Apocalypse Chill was
incredibly satisfying, especially when observing
the integration of the three different scenes and
assets. Maintaining lightweight models with interesting
aesthetics was crucial for smooth operation and user
immersion.
Addressing user challenges was a primary goal;
the XR interaction toolkit and the XR Socket Interactor proved
effective in guiding users toward specific object placement
and navigation. This, combined with clear hint panels and dynamic
icon updates, significantly improved the user experience.
The ultimate goal was for users to either successfully create a
chill-out zone over time or suffer the consequences if they failed,
culminating in a fun and engaging experience.
