Week 1

3/31/2022

So a little bit about the thesis topic. When it comes to the topic I would like to explore the positive side about social virtual reality MMORPGs the one that require the user to use a headset. With the rise and popularity of virtual reality headset, more and more people have gone to these social VR games to interact with random people online. I believe that these kind of games can be used to help people with their social anxiety. Allowing them to interact with people from the comfort of their own home, and with the experience that have developed when talking to random people. It would allow the user to become more comfortable in talking to people in the real world.

4/01/2022

Today on this day I have been exploring literature reviews when it comes to my topic. I have stumbled upon some good reviews and i plan on reading them to get some more insight on how I should approach it

4/04/2022

Researched the provided information that was given on my discussion board. As well as attended the meeting with Dr.Diefenbach about the further steps that I will need in order to narrow down what I want my thesis to be about

04/05/2022

For this day I investigated different kinds of virtual reality games that also allow the user to use a virtual reality headset. The reason why I have decided to go this route is because with a head mounted display, it will allow the user to feel as if they are inside that evironment. Compared to a traditional way where it will just be using a computer screen. When it comes to this thesis, I would like it that when it comes to the knowledge that they have acquired in the experiment, could be put to use in the real world. That with them getting practice with interacting with people in the virtual space, they would do the same in real life.

I will be talking about the different platforms as the days go by since I will be gathering information about the platforms, and if they will be useful with the kind of experiment that I will be conducting. So for the first platform that I was looking into would be a game called Vrchat. Vrchat is an online virtual world platfrom. With Vrchat it allows the user to explore vast variety of worlds as well as the ability to try out different avatars. With the ability of being able to try out an endless amount of avatars it enables the experience of allowing the user to be who they want to be.

Vrchat allows users to be able to come up with their very own worlds. If I were to go with this platform I will be able to create a world where I will have the ability for control, since without much control then the experiment will be a major flop.

Vrchat

04/06/2022

For todays blog I will be talking about Oasis. Oasis is a Social VR game where you can make friends from aroun the world. You are able to chat with them, and play games with them. You can also create your very own avatars. The big difference about Oasis is that oasis can be played from your phone. After downloading Oasis onto my computer I was greeted with an error message. After countless hours of trying to fix it, I have decided to not go with this platform since I was not able to properly launch it. I was looking forward to using oasis since from thel ooks of it their world creation looks intereting to work with. From looking at their website they are reworking the Pc version of oasis. I have also set up an interview with a therapist to get more information about social anxiety.

Oasis

04/07/2022

For todays blog I have started doing some reaseach about creating a virtual reality social game. Decided to investigate since I thought it would be fun to do, plus I like to challenge myself. I will be posting more information about what I have figured out on fridays video blog.

04/08/2022

04/11/2022

Today I have viewed the information that was provided by Dr.Diefenbach, I have also taken upon myself to look for assets to use for when it comes to creating a virtual world. I have also looked at tutorials on how to program in VRChat. The video that was used is this one.

04/12/2022

For today I have started creating a world in Vrchat. For the first world I was thinking about making it into an experience that is like a park. The reason why I decided to go with this setting is because a park is very relaxing and would be a good fit for a first time experience

04/13/2022

For today I have worked on the timeline for the project that I am currently working on for this class, a video will be posted at the end of this week

04/14/2022

For todays update I have been working on the park like area in Vrchat. As well as getting acustomed to the many things that the sdk has going on. I have also started in the creation of my very own Vrchat like clone.

04/15/2022

04/18/2022

For what I plan on creating when it comes to the personal project would be a private game client so that only I and the people I plan to get are only able to use it. For the private game I plan on implementing multiplayer, communitcaiton, and world interaction.

For vrchat it would be the creation of worlds and how I will be able to make worlds that can be use

I have decided to cut back on some parts of the project since with amount of time left, It was a little bit too I guess huge to handle.

Last week as you saw, I have started on the creation of a virtual world and as well as the creation of my own personal virtual reality game.

Week 4

For this week I plan continue developing the VRchat and as well continue to learn the Udon code to see what I can come up with. If enough time is allowed I will also work on the virtual reality game and try to implement multiplater into the game.

Week 5

Gather the feedback that was provided from the past week and use it to continue working with the projects. If I have not succesfully implemented the Multiplayer on my personal game then continue to do so on that part.

Week 6

To continue on the multiplayer aspect of the game as well the continuation of the world creation in vrchat.

Week 7

For the personal game would be the implementation of avatar selection where the player is able to pick and choose from a variety of avatars that are provided. For vrchat it would be to refine and continue working on the game

Week 8

For the personal game it would be the research of voice chat and getting it implemented into the game. Vrchat aspect would be to refine and continue world creation and seeing what works and does not work.

Week 9

Wrap up on what is left for both vrchat and personal game

Week 10

Present the game and world that I have been creating

For today I reviweded the data that was provided by Dr.Diefenbach. I have also sent out an email to Amelia Virtual Care in the hopes of gathering more information in how I should approach these scenarious or worlds.

04/19/2022

For todays blog I have decided to work on the personal VR unity game. I went back and to fix a bug that I was having with interactables. It seems that I had forgotten about tagging it to an interactable object since without it I would not have been able to pick it up.

Interactables

So since I have created a seperate layer for interaction layer mask, I had forgoteen to update it. Without it being updated the cup was not able to be picked up. Once changed everything was working as it should

I have also studied a bit about the online intregration for the game. I have decided to go with Photon since it seems straight forward when it comes to setting it up for online play. I have also read up on the documentation and for tomorrow I should be able to get the game up and running so that it can get connected to the internet

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