Satellite Experience

This project was devised as a way to develop and test out a zero gravity movement system, logically it was therefore best set in an environment where gravity would not exist. I initially thought about creating a space ship of some kind to use as a test-bed, however I wanted to keep the model simple and quick to make so I decided to model a satellite similar to ones found in games like ‘Kerbal Space Program’. Once the model was complete, I exported it to Unreal Engine 4 and used it as the basis of a zero gravity experience. The user starts a little way off from the satellite and uses hand mounted rocket boosters (mimicking the ones found in the games Echo Arena and Lone Echo) to propel themselves towards the vessel where they are free to move themselves around by grabbing onto parts of the satellite and pulling themselves along (as seen in the video below). This project taught me a great deal about the drawbacks of virtual reality. It introduced me to the phenomenon of virtual reality sickness, which occurred, to a minor degree, as this was the first experience I had created where the player could move without teleportation or physically moving. It prompted me to research further to primary causes and potential solutions to minimise the effect (i.e. the importance of retaining a high frame rate & reference points whilst in VR)