Research Proposal
Research Overview
What Is My Project
I intend to create an optical illusion art gallery, where the user can walk through at their own pace. This experience will include illusions I have personally experienced first-hand, and others where I have not experienced them. My project will be in a neutral-coloured location, with a modern aesthetic, like that of an actual modern art gallery (Figure 1). However, I am contemplating including a science fiction theme. This would possibly include soft neon lighting and futuristic doors. Like the interior of the ships in Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly, 2014). I also intend to incorporate a linear path for the user. As I want them to experience each illusion separately, which will also be endless with a loop available at the end. Furthermore, I also hope to create an immersive experience in which a wide range of people can use. I will aim to be attentive to as many ethical considerations as possible. Examples being people with physical disabilities, prone to seizures and motion sickness and potentially colour blindness.
Inspiration For My Project
I was mainly inspired from a location I have visited which specialises in optical illusions. The location being Camera Obscura & World of Illusions located in Edinburgh, Scotland. I have visited this location once, and I thought it would be interesting to try and include some of their illusions into my project and see if they have the same effect in virtual reality as they do in real life.
I have also been inspired by other optical illusions. One example being a moving picture illusion. These types of illusions make the user look into a certain place and the rest of the image appears to move. For example, the image below (Figure 2). The wheels below will appear to move no matter what part of the image the user is looking at.
Reason For My Project
I would like to create a virtual reality experience with optical illusions as I intend to find out if the illusions have the same effect on the user in virtual reality as they do in real life. As previously mentioned, I have experienced some illusions in real life, and they have had an effect on myself. For example, the vortex tunnel in Camera Obscura & World of Illusions makes someone feel disorientated and lose their balance. The science behind the tunnel is explained by Camera Obscura and World of Illusions (2015) which says that it “works by tricking your mind and body into thinking and feeling like the ground beneath you is moving when in fact it is completely still and fixed in place”. Furthermore, they also state that contradictory messages from the sight and touch sense make it hard for your brain to decide on what is happening. I find this illusion interesting, and I hope to see if it will have the same effect on the user in virtual reality. However, I must take in ethical considerations for this illusion. One consideration would be that of fast-moving images and strobe lights. These lights and images could potentially trigger seizures for anyone prone to epilepsy (Mayo Clinic, 2023). I intend to have warnings in place for these types of illusions.
Another example of an illusion I intend to implement is the Ames Room (Figure 3). The Ames Room deceives the user’s perception, by distorting the space to make objects appear to change their size depending on which side of the room they are on (Andrei, 2023). It would be interesting to see if this illusion would still work within virtual reality, as this illusion requires a viewing point from a certain angle to work. The floor of the Ames Room has a slight descending angle, which makes the person further away appear smaller, and I would have to counteract this if someone was to try and bypass the illusion. I would counteract someone trying to break the illusion by offering a small viewing hole. The user would only be able to see the illusion from the correct angle and would not be able to break the illusion.
I have chosen to create this project within virtual reality as I believe it is the most suitable form of medium to bring out the full potential for the project. Using this medium allows the user to take control of their movement and move at their own pace.
A 360 video would relate close to my vision. However, there is one disadvantage of using a 360 video for my piece and that is the inability for the user to control their movement. The main principle of my experience would be for the user to control their movement and move at their own pace. As I do not intend to unwillingly induce any motion sickness upon the user. Having control of their movements, the user would be able to reduce or completely stop these nauseous feelings and have a more pleasant experience.
Using WebVR would be the closest relation to any other form of virtual reality. However, I would find creating the project within WebVR would create extra steps for myself instead of creating the project within Unreal Engine 5. The reason being is that I am confident that I would be able to create a better experience within Unreal Engine than using WebVR, as I have experienced movement problems in WebVR, and having reliable movement is important for my experience.
Creating this project within Augmented Reality would not be very suitable, as I intend to include many different illusions. A disadvantage of using Augmented Reality would be that the user would only be able to see one illusion at a time. The user would need access to multiple QR codes, and this would not be feasible.
Virtual Reality art would also not be suitable for this experience. The reason being that the illusions would be extremely difficult to create within this medium. Personally, I would not be able to create illusions with Virtual Reality art. Whereas it may be possible for more skilled artists to create illusions in this art form. However, I do have a possible inclusion for a spinning vortex tunnel to be created in a Virtual reality art form. This piece would be like that of a hypnotising piece, and the user would look straight into the piece and possibly be immersed by the colours.
Project Inclusions
In order to not only assist the user, but to provide a break for the user if they feel nauseous, I will provide the user with features, warnings and assistants to prevent any dangers. These features will be easily accessible and shown before each section if necessary. Whilst also teaching the user how to use certain features before the experience.
I intend to include trigger warnings. These warnings are necessary as they will prevent people prone to any kind of seizures to use certain illusions. For example, the vortex tunnel will contain fast moving images and strobe light effects. Anyone prone to seizures would see the warning and would be able to skip this illusion. The warnings would be placed within a pop-up box before the illusion. Additionally, the warning will be before a door, so the user would not be able to see the illusion unless they confirm that they want to accept the terms and close the warning.
I intend to implement the ability to immediately move to a break room at the press of a button. These rooms will be between sections and contain no illusions. This is a safe space for the user if they are feeling uneasy. For example, if the user suddenly feels any signs of motion sickness, they would be able to use this feature and then take the time they need to feel better.
I intend to give the user the ability to teleport. For the vortex tunnel I would firstly encourage the user to not teleport within this section. As for this illusion to work the user must walk through the tunnel. Furthermore, the teleport ability would prevent the user from feeling any effects of motion sickness. This is because the teleport ability allows the user to not have conflicting signals. If the user did not use the teleport ability, then their senses would feel like they are moving but the conflicting signals to their vestibular system would trigger a nauseous feeling.
Additionally, I will also be including sounds within my experience. These sounds will hint to the user that something has been completed. One example being that the user would see a warning and they would choose to close it. The sound which would be played would be a positive confirmation sound and offers sound as a reward or confirmation sound (Totten, 2019).
I will include doors which will fit the aesthetic of the experience and will include animations when opened. The doors will also assist with separating each illusion from one another, as I intend for each illusion to be within its own section.
I will also include short information points on each illusion if possible. I would prefer to include information as the creator, year of release, and any instructions the user can do to enhance each illusion. Since my experience is going to be mimicking an art gallery, I feel it would be a sensible option to include such information.
Within my project will be the three illusions I have mentioned previously. These are the Vortex Tunnel, Rotating Snakes illusion and the Ames Room. I also aim to include around 15 different types of illusions. The reason for this is because I want the experience to not be short. I am hoping the user will take their time to view the illusions, and not present any dangers to themselves by adhering to the warnings. A few other illusions I intend to incorporate are Floating diamond (Figure 4) and Primrose’s field (Figure 5).
In order to make the user feel safe I will make sure that no warnings are too close to the user’s eyes. In doing so the user will trust my experience, as I am taking in their ethical considerations and the user experience aspects. There will be no objects for the user to pick up. However, there is a possibility that there may be buttons to open the doors. These buttons will be placed at a good height, so they do not need to reach too far up or down. With such prompts such as pushing a button, I will also assist the user into completing these actions by giving them specific instructions. These instructions will appear on the screen and disappear with a completed action. The instruction will include text in the near peripheral vision of the user, so they will not need to divert their eyes far away. As I do not intend to have the user strain their eyes. Alongside this, the text size is a factor for comfortable reading. If the text size is either too small or too large, then the user would have difficulty reading this.
Furthermore, a feature I hope to implement is to include a button to enhance an illusion. This enhancement would move certain illusions slowly up and down. For example, with Figure 5, the illusion is enhanced when the user moves their head up and down. This would prevent the user from having any nauseous feelings, and automatically allow them to have the best experience. Moreover, the illusion would not move up and down so far that the user would have to strain their neck. Without this consideration, the user would potentially feel pain when activating this feature.
Ethical Considerations
Addiction and Overuse
As my project will be an endless experience, I intend to incorporate prompts for the user to consider taking a break. As the user can develop eye strain if they are in virtual reality for too long, and it is suggested that users take breaks between 15 and 30 minutes (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 2020).
Psychological Impact
Some illusions may induce motion sickness and possibly seizures. I intend to include warnings for any illusions that include strobe lights and may trigger motion sickness.
Accessibility
I will create an on-rail track which some users with physical disabilities will be able to use. For example, the vortex tunnel will include this feature, and the user would be able to use this feature. As this illusion is intended for people with no physical disabilities.
Social Isolation
The experience will be single player. However, I will remind the user to take breaks in order to combat the social isolation aspect. As spending too much time in a single player experience would increase social isolation.
Physical Safety
In order to keep the user safe in their physical environment, I will include safety warnings to inform the user of the space around them and make sure their space is of an adequate size. Additionally, I will include the ability to teleport to a break room instantly in case the user feels disorientated and needs to take a break.
Project Plan
I have chosen to use a Gantt chart for this project. The reason being is that a Gantt chart offers a visual advantage to clearly see the scope of the project, and if I am on schedule with each task. I can reevaluate the scope if needed, and remove or include additional features, depending on how far ahead I am.
Selected Milestones
I intend to create the level as a linear experience. However, there will be no limitations to how fast the user can travel. I will need to complete this first, and then I will be able to implement the illusions and assets, as I need to create the correct size space for the user.
Once the level blockout is completed I will then incorporate the illusions. I will leave space for each illusion and be able to accurately measure the level spaces. Whilst also considering where the assets and warnings may be placed.
I am confident the user features will not be difficult to implement. The features include buttons for doors and the break room teleportation. The buttons will be placed next to the doors, and the break rooms will be located between the illusions. The user will be teleported to the nearest break room if they decided to use this feature.
Accessibility implementation will include the warnings and the on-rail track. I am also confident that these will not take too long, as they will be simple enough to create. The warnings will appear once the user is close enough to an illusion, and the on-rail track option will appear before certain illusions.
I will playtest the experience myself and find peers to playtest my experience. This will allow myself to have a second opinion and have a set of fresh eyes to find any bugs or if the experience is not friendly to the user.
Storyboard
I have shown the concepts of what the user would be doing in the experience, as they would have the freewill to do whatever they wish. There is no story to my experience, as it is an optical illusion gallery, where the user can experience different types of illusions. I intend to establish a linear path for the user, and I have shown some of the interactions and illusions which they would encounter.
References
Andrei, M. (2023) The Ames Room: The optical illusion that will make you doubt your eyes. Available online: https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/health/mind-brain/optical-illusion-ames-room/ [Accessed 7/11/2023].
Bohnenkamp, H. (2019) The Modern [Photograph]. Available online: https://heidibohnenkamp.com/The-Modern [Accessed 7/11/2023].
Camera Obscura and World of Illusions (2015) CAMERA OBSCURA’S VORTEX TUNNEL – THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE ILLUSION! [Blog post]. 6 Levels of Optical Illusions and Mind Trickery!. 19 June. Available online: https://edinburghcameraobscura.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/camera-obscuras-vortex-tunnel-the-science-behind-the-illusion/ [Accessed 7/11/2023].
Creative Assembly (2014) Alien: Isolation [Video game]. Sega. Available online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/214490/Alien_Isolation/ [Accessed 7/11/2023].
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (2020) The safety of domestic virtual reality systems (4527). Available online: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f763502d3bf7f7c2bcf9eb9/safety-domestic-vr-systems.pdf [Accessed 8/11/2023].
Kitaoka, A. (2002) Primrose’s field [Photograph]. Available online: http://www.psy.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html [Accessed 7/11/2023].
Kitaoka, A. (2003) Rotating snakes [Photograph]. Available online: https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html [Accessed 7/11/2023].
Kitaoka, A. (2016) Floating diamond [Photograph]. Available online: http://www.psy.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/motion34e.html [Accessed 7/11/2023].
Mayo Clinic (2023) Epilepsy. Available online: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epilepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20350093 [Accessed 7/11/2023].
Silly Little Man (2011) Ames Room [Photograph]. Available online: https://www.flickr.com/photos/silly_little_man/6070070694 [Accessed 7/11/2023].
Totten, C. W. (2019) An architectural approach to level design. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.
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