FANCY RAT

2019

Unity© game engine, Meta2 AR Headset

With the opportunity to test game mechanics within the trailblazing world of AR headsets, I created a small exercise where a player can customize a pet rat’s color, name, and clothing. The advantage of AR over VR allowed for a limited amount of “realistic” interaction with the rat. Building for this unique space was an adventure in troubleshooting, from frequent crashes to realizing the system doesn’t recognize hands if you’re wearing a coat with puffy sleeves.

 
PetTheRat.gif

interacting with The rat as a friend

The only hand control with the Meta2 Headset is creating a fist in order to “grab” objects, which automatically translates an object’s position and can be programmed to trigger other events. This limited tool-set did not stop many players from trying to hold and pet the rat. They still seemed to enjoy these interactions even though there was no tactile feedback. Adding animations to the rat gave a sense of life that made it very endearing to most of the players, along with having it squeak when grabbed.

 
dressedRat.jpg

Dressing up the Rat

While the game’s purpose was a technical exercise in creating AR with the Meta2 Headset, giving customization options for the players to explore along with a creature to interact with kept them immersed in the game.