Designing Video Games for Virtual Reality can be tricky at best. Learn some top tips of working with VR games (hint: Research!)

1. Designing VR Games
Keith Makse
CEO, Red Meat Games

2. Who am I?
• Game Designer
• Producer
• CEO
• Comic Book Lover
• Gamer

3. Virtual Reality: A Heroic
Endeavour
Virtual reality is on the cusp of revolutionizing
the way we live. VR is making strides into
healthcare, education, manufacturing and
video games.
Developers working on VR represent the
cutting edge of design and technology

4. Enhanced Everything
Immersion
Mobility
Experience

5. Become Superman!
VR allows players to go
beyond the controller and
really become immersed in
the world and their character.
Motion controls enable
players to really feel like
they’re the character.

6. … but Kryptonite
This new tech doesn’t come without it’s design
challenges. As with any new tech there are issues
that will have to be worked through as the tools
evolves and so do the design practices.

7. Devices for VR
There are various VR devices that have
entered the market this year and more on
their way.
Each device offers a different development
and user experience requiring varying
amounts of processing power, equipment,
space and input.

8. HTC Vive
We utilize the HTC Vive’s
lighthouses to allow players to
move around their room guided by
the Chaperone system.
We also make use of the motion
controls to let players extend their
arms to fly like Superman! We offer
a wide range of motion controls for
various superpowers and abilities.

9. Immersion
Immersion in VR is achieved through several facets of
design choices. World building in VR is crucial to
immersion. A fully realized world will make the player feel
like they are truly there.

10. Immersion in First Impact
With First Impact we aim to pair engaging and relatable
characters with strong narrative and animations. Our focus
is delivering an immersive world players will get lost in. It’s
the realization of every child’s dream to be a superhero and
save the day!

11. U.I. (User Interface)
A smartly designed UI goes a long way to combatting
motion sickness in VR. Having the least amount of
stationary data in the player’s FOV (Field of View) helps to
prevent disorientation and lag.

12. UI in First Impact
In First Impact we placed the UI on the wrist of the player. They need
only to look down at their arm to see their location on the map, which
power they have equipped, their mission and how many resources
they have. It’s a clean solution and prevents motion sickness. It also
encourage players to use the motion controls.

13. Simulator Sickness
Simulator sickness occurs when the world the player is in
moves but the body doesn’t. For example when a player is
standing still playing a VR game and jumps in the game.
That sensation creates simulator sickness.

14. Simulator Sickness Cont’d
Decreasing a player’s FOV while they are moving
counteracts the simulator sickness that a player will get by
moving with a normal FOV. This in combination with a
larger FOV while the player is stationary will help decrease
simulator sickness.

15. Conclusion
Designing anything in VR is a
process of discovery, trial and error,
and for the most part - fun. First
Impact has been a novel experience
for us as a studio thus far, and we
cannot wait to see where the
technology and research will take us!

16. Questions?
Thank you so much for listening! <3
keith@redmeatgames.ca
@RedMeatGames
Facebook.com/RedMeatGames
Twitch.com/redmeatplays