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DNA DETECTIVE:
SECRETS OF THE SHADOW MAN
VR Simulation Escape Room, Interactive Serious Gaming
Summary
Producing a VR Escape Room interactive where players can solve a murder mystery while simultaneously learning about the process of forensic DNA fingerprinting.
Audience
High Schoolers (AP Bio) and Undergraduates
My Role
Game Design and UI/UX Design
Team
Alex McDonough, Leah Balsan, Haley Guess, Susie Hammons, Raisa Rodriguez, Jasmine Tsin
Timeline
8 weeks in the Fall of 2023
Tools
Figma, Blender, Unity, Oculus (Meta) Quest 2, Oculus Rift
The Problem
Learning about forensic DNA fingerprinting at a procedural level can be difficult to comprehend and visualize.
Genetics lab can be a difficult subject for students to visualize due to the molecular nature of the subject matter and potentially, the introduction of new, expensive equipment.
Design Goals
01
Create an engaging immersive simulation that would get students interested in learning more about DNA and forensic science.
02
Inspire learning more about DNA fingerprinting and the laboratory techniques that coincide with the procedure.
03
Analyze how VR simulation can better improve procedural learning.
Design Process
Workflow
Roles were divided between group members and timelines were made in FigJam. Weekly check-in meetings were held to keep the momentum project and make sure our team was on track with deadlines.
If any of our group members needed extra hands or had any issues, we communicated using Discord.
Research & Ideation
Ideation occurred in FigJam with the full team ideating and conversing. We broke down the ideation into 3 categories: scientific topic, game type, and basic mechanics. We then voted on ideas we thought would fit within the scope of our timeline along with our ability within Unity and Oculus Quest 2.
Once we decided on a topic, research was conducted using reliable sources to check for the technical accuracy of the techniques used in DNA fingerprinting. Sketches were created to map out the steps in the procedure along with creating the overall escape room design of the game.
Mood boards were created to identify the tone and lighting of the game. The lighting was a big focus due to the horror motif of the game design.
UX/UI Design
The content was sketched out and then brought into Figma to be mapped out. The user experience flow was charted out to ensure the best path for the user to play through.
For VR, it was also important to take into account that player are wearing a headset and their field of vision is different from a game built out for desktop. Peripheral vision along with field of vision were taken into account when designing the wireframes and UI assets.
The wireframes of the game were created in Figma and the UI assets were pulled from the Unity store. The UI assets were further customized in Adobe Photoshop and in the Unity file itself.
2D & 3D Asset Design
3D assets were both created in Blender as needed and collected from SketchFab to fit a cohesive style in mind.
The 2D assets primarily consisted of the UI designs along with a few of the interactable throughout the game. The 2D assets were created to match the 3D assets along with the horror elements of the design.
Development
We developed a prototype in Unity 2022.3 while using the Oculus Rift VR software to playtest throughout production. Assets within the game were given functionality and players were able to interact with various objects such as grabbing and button pushing. Task functions were added to the game to lead players through the learning goals and the storyline.
The VR simulation was built out of Unity and built into the Oculus Quest 2 to playtest. Feedback from peers and mentors were applied to further iterations of the game.
Conclusion
Next Steps
This would include getting feedback and suggestions from playtesters to direct future game iterations. Playtesters would be recruited via personal connections, Reddit forums, and Discord channels focused on playtesting. A mixed methods survey would also be attached to the game file to make sure certain areas are commented on (ex. accessibility, readability of the UI, nausea while playing, etc.).
Want to Play?
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