BY TEAM SUMMIT
This is a VR application. that helps individuals in a calming environment that teaches everyday, useful tasks and allows users to practise them until they feel confident to use the learned skills in real life, appealing to the young and old across various activities, this app provides a plethora of activities for all demographics to interact with to either learn or build upon skills. Users can interact with their surroundings with real world physics with useful tips, calming music and a simplistic user interface to navigate through the tasks at hand. It appeals to tactile learners where involvement engages interest and you can see a finished product which encourages a sense of achievement.
This project will be developed in a games engine and aims to be as accessible as possible for many different demographics. Steps needed to implement to create this app from start to finish would be to create a team. This team would need people with C# programming skills, experience with unity, sound design, 3d modelling skills and game designer skills, these individuals would all need knowledge of github and git to appropriately add their contributions to the project. Moving forward, the team would need to come up with a plan to discuss how the app would look involving the user interface, graphics, activities to include and device interfacing, surveying demographics to see which skills are in demand to learn, data recording and promotions to consider. The development would be extensive, starting with motion capture of objects, the team would need to to capture human movement, time real-life activities, have approximate measures of real-life objects, record sounds and also record and test how to do each activity accurately.
This information can then be imported into the digital project and the work on 3D modelling and programming can commence. This would involve extensive play-testing amongst the team and external opinions from individuals not on the team to give another point of view. All this development is not without costs as people do need income for their time, it would be good to consider creating a short demo to demonstrate for a fundraiser or to pitch to companies to invest in to fairly compensate the team and to also fund advertisement. Upon completion, the project would need to be posted onto an online game shop. Steam would be an ideal site to host as it is the most universally used games digital distribution service (Prescott, S, 2019) which would increase reachability for sales and access. This game would need frequent updates to accommodate activity requests and to import new devices and their interfaces as they become available to keep up with the technology.
A sample of 2000 millennials surveyed in 2018 by Airtasker, 50% admit they struggle with everyday tasks. Some of the data also records specific tasks that the sample group were not confident in doing such as 84% admit they are not confident in changing a lightbulb and 82% would not be confident cleaning a car. [1] User John Challis mentioned there is a disconnect between the elderly and technology (Challis, J. 2016). How do we close that gap? A very real issue that many can relate to experiencing, especially showing the elderly how to use technology and apps. These staggering numbers are increasing as priorities shift to pursuing full time education and work from a young age and young people are leaving home later which generally negates the need for household tasks as parents usually handle those and thus the skills are not learned. As technology evolves at such a rapid rate, elderly people struggle to keep up, as well as technology having costs associated with it, it’s unreasonable to expect elderly persons to keep buying technology in order to keep up with it. That’s where the need for such an application to fill those gaps comes in.
The proposed program is an interactive educational game . for all ages to relax and enjoy while learning helpful skills for everyday tasks. While simulators are not a new concept, simulators used for these particular activities are lacking. Flight simulators are a cost effective way for pilots to gain experience with little to no risks, why not apply that to everyday activities. This app can even be applied to learning a new hobby without using the funds to purchase the materials and equipment for something that the user may not even end up enjoying. Not everyone is afforded the same life experiences and education on skills that are considered to be taught outside of school which is where this program comes in. While using search engines to learn how to do everyday things has been helpful, there’s no substitute for hands-on experience. This interactive skills simulator offers an option to those who are tactile learners where watching a video and reading instructions may not provide the most effective form of educational delivery.
Many instruction booklets that come with devices usually have very small fonts which are difficult to read and don’t always have answers for specific things you are trying to do as they are a general guide. When trying to experiment with navigating devices, it can be easy to accidentally make a phone call or post something publicly, so with helpful prompts that let the user know what each button does at whatever pace the user likes, users can experiment and try things without the concern of dramatically changing a device or the public seeing their mishaps. Tools and supplies can be expensive and in some tasks you risk injury without supervision from an experienced individual or you risk causing damage to items if you try to repair them. This app aims to provide a cost effective means for learning as most people have access to a computer with minimum specifications to run virtual reality or a basic game in general. The program utilises virtual reality where the user can explore their environment, pick up items and use items to complete tasks that they can then apply to the real world. Skills that can be investigated include but are not limited to mending clothes, changing a tire, lawn mowing, house painting, woodwork, patching a hole in a wall, putting air in tires, and cleaning. Features and considerations to be made include but are not limited to:
Making sure the game is accessible, ensuring the resolutions are not too intense so graphics and physics are not too demanding on equipment.
A non-virtual reality mode for those who do not own VR capable equipment
Simplistic user interface to cater for a wide variety of age demographics as too much stylising can be distracting and confusing. Too many options can be overwhelming.
A calming environment with relaxing ambient and positive encouraging prompts
Available in multiple languages thus furthering accessibility
This game helps individuals learn helpful everyday life skills in a controlled environment. Where changing a tire and sewing can be hazardous if you don’t know what you’re doing, this game provides an area in which to learn. Many people can be ashamed to ask to learn these skills as they are generally viewed as skills parents should have already taught you or as an elderly person, have not grown up with such technologies and were never shown how to use things. It is unreasonable to expect any person to buy multiple smart devices just to learn how to use them, with different brands usually coming with different user interfaces, it would be helpful to navigate and try before buying to see which is the most intuitive for a person before buying. This program provides a shame-free area to practise. It will have real world physics to emulate the movement of objects using the Unity engine. This product will be available in steam which is a digital distribution service to allow for worldwide delivery. Technological devices will be updated into the system so users can select their devices or potential devices and get familiar with the interface and capabilities.
For the most efficient results, a team would need to be formed to cover the large amount of aspects involved with creation. To develop the game the software involved would be a physics engine such as Unity should be used, 3D modelling software such as blender, use of an IDE to program in, most likely Microsoft visual studio. A physics shader such as ShaderToy will need to be used. Where music is involved, sound equipment and music editing software, a microphone for recording voice-overs,. The development team would also need a VR headset and a pc with minimum capabilities to support VR and render 3D images.
The skills required are knowledge of C# programming language to be used in Visual studios in conjunction with Unity. Scripts will need to be written for the game. The developers will need to know how to model and render 3D images and program physics shaders using OPenGL shading language. It would not be difficult to find the resources online to learn such programming as many resources and tutorials exist online. The software involved and mentioned are all free to the public. Unity however becomes a paid service when an individual or organisation earns more than $100K per annum but is otherwise free. Most people own a PC capable of running basic games and basic VR is available even on smart mobile phones which can be inserted into a headset which is an affordable and feasible means of using VR technology. Audacity is a free and highly capable sound editing app which will reduce costs associated with development, thus decreasing the prices that need to be passed onto the user. Instruments and sound recording tools can be hired however it can be costly over time and it requires prior knowledge of instrumental skills. It’s definitely an option if needing to be considered however royalty-free music is available and if voice-overs are necessary, a microphone is all that’s needed
People old and young alike wanting to learn or improve skills will be able to do so from the comfort of their own home, organisations can implement this technology in educational settings to provide another method of learning. If successful, the need for expenditure for tools and equipment to learn these skills will not be necessary which will save people money, time and space and people will be confident trying out the tasks and know what equipment is needed if they ever come across an issue. This development will hopefully build a more confident community and enable people to have the ability to help others if their neighbours or friends need a hand. People will have the option to save money on hiring a handy person which is beneficial to those on a budget especially in an economy where the cost of living has skyrocketed.
John Challis 2016 ,Quora. (n.d.). What are common problems that need solving? [online] Available at: https://qr.ae/pvYogT [Accessed 11 Jul. 2022].
Prescott, S. (2019). The most popular desktop gaming clients, ranked. [online] PC Gamer. Available at: https://www.pcgamer.com/the-most-popular-desktop-gaming-clients-ranked/.