Diorama no.1 : Blocked In V3.0 - UPDATE : 09/16/2015

[TheShoeboxDiora]

Heya everybody.

I finally got around to finishing a new iteration of Blocked In. It took some time, since I also had to get it Vive version ready. Other then that I have been hard at work on other dioramas and Dear Pigeon Man. Visit http://www.dearpigeonman.com for a sneakpeek 🙂 or follow me on my FB page: http://www.facebook.com/shoeboxdiorama . Gear versions are also in the works.

But let's talk about Blocked In.
The update includes:
- Realtime Shadows in the handpainted environment (courtesy of Tim Moelard from The Virtual Dutchmen)
- Progression structure. A new view will unlock after you've spend 5 minutes in the first view. It's hard for visitors to relax for more then 5 minutes, this way I hope people will be motivated to stay in a view longer. But do tell me your thoughts.
- Menu navigation is more efficient.
- Fixed a lot of geometry problems, reworked a lot of textures.

Known issues:
- Some texture issues in the main menu miniatures.
- Popping transparant texture in the 3rd view.
- Shadows can be glitchy (Seems to be a Unity 5.2 issue)
- Options menu is taken out for now, will be put in later.
- No return to menu button yet.

You can download it from here:
http://www.theshoeboxdiorama.com/downlo ... 150916.zip

Note that this is not the "releasable" version so there probably will be some errors.
You can recenter the view by pressing any button and you'll need the 0.7.0 runtime drivers.
Please give your heartfelt feedback or if you are going to Oculus Connect find me there at the buffet table and tell me it personally!

[drash]

Congratulations on Blocked-In getting on the Non-Game lineup for 2014 Unity Awards!

[snappahead]

"DanielErnst" wrote:

"RiftXdev" wrote:
Please add DK2 support 🙂 I've wanted a close up of that damn game boy for a year now!! :lol:

Hahah your wish is my command. A DK2 version is in the works 🙂 My DK2 will arrive tomorrow so I can test some stuff out. Stay tuned ! In the meanwhile you can try out my second diorama : viewtopic.php?f=28&t=10574&p=148204#p148204

Excellent! Blocked In is still one of my favorite VR experiences. I just tried the Gottlieb demo and loved it as well. I really think you're on to something with the diorama format. It's brilliant for VR..especially now that we have positional tracking.

One question about Gottlieb..is the table suppose to be on my right instead of in front of me? Hitting F12 made the table move behind me and hitting it again brought it back to my right...just curious. It looked great and ran perfect.

[Rirath]

I'm late to the party, but just wanted to say congrats on the Unity nomination as well.

Also, some thoughts on the endless diorama post... I agree with most of it, and it's a very compelling argument for a new segment of "game". There is one thing however I find perhaps slightly questionable, which may not be even what you intend, but could perhaps be expanded upon:

It's digital, it's entertainment, you don't have a controller, you don't have to save a princess, shouldn't there be more interaction? No there shouldn't and it's not a game.

This is perhaps the only thing that has bothered me with the 'diorama' / 'experience' category so far. I do believe more interactivity would be beneficial, especially to helping me feel like I'm there. I'm not saying a goal, or a puzzle, or anything like that - just the ability to interact with and influence my environment. Flip a light-switch, move a chair, pick up a book, turn on a TV, open a door, and so on.

Take PolyWorld as an example. Beautiful place. I loved 'being there'. But man, did I ever want to open the treasure chests or take a look inside those houses. I can understand the non-interactive ones, certainly. But it sort of reminds me of the early 3d computer games where everything was starting to look great, but it was all nailed down. The 'illusion' that it was real is hard to maintain when a lamp is firmly stuck to a table. Once physics was added, things became more lifelike for me.

Another example is Tuscany as Oculus World that ships with DK2 - static and unmoving, I've heard it called 'like being frozen in time', vs Tuscany with the Hydra - you can pick up books, move chairs, throw baseballs, watch the fireplace or fountain, etc. There's room for both interactive and non-interactive experiences, absolutely. I just wouldn't go so far as to say there "shouldn't" be more interaction.

Looking forward to trying Blocked In with the DK2.

[snappahead]

Yeah, some interaction is a good idea. I conceived an idea that would be a diorama with a narrative. Things would happen around you in a scripted fashion that you could influence somewhat, but wouldn't involve more than looking at someone and clicking on it. I love this idea heh.

[TheShoeboxDiora]

"drash" wrote:
Congratulations on Blocked-In getting on the Non-Game lineup for 2014 Unity Awards!

Thanks dude 😄

"rirath" wrote:
I'm late to the party, but just wanted to say congrats on the Unity nomination as well.

Also, some thoughts on the endless diorama post... I agree with most of it, and it's a very compelling argument for a new segment of "game". There is one thing however I find perhaps slightly questionable, which may not be even what you intend, but could perhaps be expanded upon:

It's digital, it's entertainment, you don't have a controller, you don't have to save a princess, shouldn't there be more interaction? No there shouldn't and it's not a game.

This is perhaps the only thing that has bothered me with the 'diorama' / 'experience' category so far. I do believe more interactivity would be beneficial, especially to helping me feel like I'm there. I'm not saying a goal, or a puzzle, or anything like that - just the ability to interact with and influence my environment. Flip a light-switch, move a chair, pick up a book, turn on a TV, open a door, and so on.

Take PolyWorld as an example. Beautiful place. I loved 'being there'. But man, did I ever want to open the treasure chests or take a look inside those houses. I can understand the non-interactive ones, certainly. But it sort of reminds me of the early 3d computer games where everything was starting to look great, but it was all nailed down. The 'illusion' that it was real is hard to maintain when a lamp is firmly stuck to a table. Once physics was added, things became more lifelike for me.

Another example is Tuscany as Oculus World that ships with DK2 - static and unmoving, I've heard it called 'like being frozen in time', vs Tuscany with the Hydra - you can pick up books, move chairs, throw baseballs, watch the fireplace or fountain, etc. There's room for both interactive and non-interactive experiences, absolutely. I just wouldn't go so far as to say there "shouldn't" be more interaction.

Looking forward to trying Blocked In with the DK2.

Thanks for the response!

The thing I meant to say is that there shouldn't "necessarily" be "more" interaction. At least not with diorama type of experiences. I'm all for interaction, but interaction needs a clear goal. But I think we mostly agree 🙂

My second diorama Der Grosse Gottlieb (https://share.oculusvr.com/app/diorama-no2--der-grosse-gottlieb) uses interaction in a subtle way. When the player looks down a microphone streams a live audio feed into the virtual world and mixes it with the sounds of the virtual space. You'll only hear the live feed when you look down, when you look up the sound will fade and you will be left alone with the sound of the stars. And when you look up a big star will pop up in your peripheral vision (making it feel like an accident) thus enticing the player to reach for the stars. The narrative of the diorama tells the story of Der Grosse Gottlieb, which is about an acrobat who tries to reach the stars. Ofcourse he will never be able too and nor will the player. Interaction that supports narrative is very important. That's how I like to use my interaction, when there is a distinct place within the experience. The amount of interactivity is not important when the interaction that is there serves a goal.

So it really depends of the type of experience your going for (as you mentioned) I like the distilled moment feel. It's like being in a hotel lobby or listening to Chris Isaak. A space in between time and space. It has a weird dreamy feel to it and combined with the absence of the body makes you feel like an observer. When you are able to change the environment too much. Moving or throwing stuff around it feels like a sandbox and the player won't be able to fully focus on the immersion and it gives you a sense of things being able to end. Or if you start throwing around with stuff you'll get tired of the experience and shut it down, whilst if you are in a static like experience you can focus completely on the presence and things not ending. Of course if an experience or narrative lends itself for an interaction of that kind, it should be used.

Until I'm able to walk around without a controller I won't try out the walking around stuff, which is why a static experience is what I'm going for at the moment. (can't wait for my stem sensors to arrive).

I certainly will be exploring different ways of interaction as mentioned above. The Pigeon Man (the bigger project I'm working on) explores interactivity in a diorama type of experience and let's you interact with characters. Interaction is a big part of the story and of the "gameplay". Just showed an early demo at Gamescom so I hope I will be able to polish and finish the first episode asap!

"Snappahead" wrote:
Yeah, some interaction is a good idea. I conceived an idea that would be a diorama with a narrative. Things would happen around you in a scripted fashion that you could influence somewhat, but wouldn't involve more than looking at someone and clicking on it. I love this idea heh.

Cool, good luck!

[TheShoeboxDiora]

A small reminder. Only a couple of days left till the Unity Awards.

You can still vote for Blocked In & Der Grosse Gottlieb on the Unity Awards voting page: https://unity3d.com/awards/2014 🙂
The award ceremony will be held 21st of August 2014. And I guess voting will go on until then 🙂

[cahorton]

Thanks for the reminder. Voted for you in your categories, and looking forward to the DK2 version of Blocked In!

[cybereality]

I voted. Good luck.

[TheShoeboxDiora]

cahorton, Cybereality 😄 THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT! ❤️

[Rirath]

You know, I'd be happy to vote - but without DK2 support, I can't experience the demo. Didn't have a DK1, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Wouldn't feel right voting for something I've not tried.

Not a complaint, just a bit of a shame about the timing is all.