In a noisy world in an evolving field, how might we help people have a more experiential and informed opinion surrounding the metaverse.
Design an interactive experience that documents the thoughts, feelings, perceptions and musings from the users & experts of the metaverse.
A new user would then walk through this curated thoughtspace and experience a juxtaposition of utopian visions and dystopian sentiments with the aim of helping them:
Create an opinion
Understanding the metaverse through the eyes of others aiding them into forming their own opinion about the space.
Explore game dynamics
Explore some of the basic game mechanics used in the metaverse i.e Avatar, 3D Interactive Environment, Navigation & Narrative.
The Thoughtpool experience begins in a calming landing space in which you can freely explore a series of spaces that surround a central courtyard, adopting an almost dream-like aesthetic approach to “perfect spring day meets museum meets cozy home.
In exploring the space, you will encounter various opinion bubbles that appear floating and nearly impossible to resist entering. After entering it, an audio playback is triggered of an a randomized aggregate of a user’s positive experience of the Metaverse
In the center of the courtyard is a large wormhole that transports the user to the dystopian side of the metaverse. The calm space is where a user can experience the utopian thoughts and the dark space is where the experience the dystopian.
Littered around the space are these abstract sculptures which house the thoughts of the experts.
No metaverse experience would be complete without an avatar. Explore the world with Zulu!
The first step was to get a better understanding of the history and current state of the metaverse. If we we’re going to educate people about the space, it’s pertinent that we have the right context
Since the popularisation of the Internet in the 1990s,cyberspace has continually evolved. We have created various computer-mediated virtual environments including social networks, video conferencing, virtual 3D worlds (e.g., VR Chat),augmented reality applications (e.g., Pokemon Go), and NonFungible Token Games (e.g., CryptoKitties). transformation.
The term ‘metaverse’ hasbeen coined to further facilitate the digital transformation inevery aspect of our physical lives. At the core of the metaversestands the vision of an immersive Internet as a gigantic, unified,persistent, and shared realm.
Extended Reality
User Interactivity
Artificial Intelligence
Blockchain
Computer Vision
IoT & Robotics
Cloud Computing
Future Mobile Networks
Avatar
Content Creation
Virtual Economy
Social Acceptability
Security & Privacy
Trust
Accountability
We quickly realized through the research that there was a lot (and varied) information around what constituted the metaverse - and a lot of confusion in this space for the average consumer
Along with the theory and technical aspects of the metaverse, the way companies and the media portrait it plays a big role in how the public perceives it. As a result of the confusion, this may lead to a decreased in interest as shown in the Google Trends data.
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After researching the field, the next step was to get a better understanding of what the average person thinks about this space.
We prepared a survey as well as conducted primary interviews. Our target segment was gender balanced, aged 21-36 and consisted of 10 people.
"It’s a bit frustrating trying to get an understanding of the metaverse. It’s very theoretical and a humanist perspective would be more helpful.”
- Aashim, 36, Creative Director
“I want more art in the metaverse. That and something more interactive that requires storytelling. I think storytelling is a key component”
- Ma Yuge, 36, Indie Game Designer
“I think its an interesting concept, but i’m not really sure what it can do for me. I use a lot of apps so i’m not sure if there’s any point in joining the metaverse?”
- Randhir, 22, College Student
“Being tech savy is defintely not one of my skillsets. But if something is entertaining, i’m more willing to learn it.”
- Jenny , 31, Freelance Illustrator
Through the research, a few common themes started emerging.
There’s no centralized place to learn and understand about the metaverse
People get overwhelmed when there is too much information being presented to them about a new topic
The metaverse is experiential but it’s not explained in an experiential way.
How might we make learning about the metaverse more relatable while acting as a space to educate and peek the interest about it's many possibilities to those that navigate through it.
We ideated around 20-30 different concepts and pitched our top 3 to our weekly class for some feedback. Considering the brief, time and overall idea, we had our unanimous front runner concept to prototype.
After understanding the considerations for what needs to be achieved and the requirements of the brief, I created the core functions for us to design this experience.
Minimal, Beauty & Inclusivity, Softness contrasting with aggression Relaxed and Explorative, Poetic.
We took inspiration from 3D architecture renders, monument valley and video games.
There was a few rounds of trying to distill a narrative on our users but then after referring to our research and project objectives, decided to go for a more exploration driven narrative.
Below are a few space and interaction based loops we iterated on to achieve this effect.
Iteration 1
Iteration 2 - Information Architecture
After sketching and iterating the concepts above, we presented our final concept to our class, received feedback and created the flow that would define out users journey. One of our key interactions that resonated was the idea of having two spaces, one to house the more utopian thoughts and one for the more dystopian.
Constraints: One of the main limitation in designing the form for our space was that we had to use Mixamo. As a result, it was ideal to use a more humanoid figure to work with the animation algorithm
Form: Inviting, Semi-Abstract, Adaptable to light and dark spaces.
Process: As part of the character exploration phase, I sketched a few forms, sculpted one and animated it for a test in unreal.
Testing: Additional, the reason for this test was to get some early feedback on if our users would feel comfortable navigating the space in this way. The results were positive.
Other Character Explorations: One of my roles was to animate the final character in Unreal created by my teammate. I created these characters to test the functionality and act as additional iteration.
Final Character: In the final stage I was provided the character to rig, animate and then blue print in Unreal.
Duality: We acknowledged early on in the process that there’s more nuance to the opinions surrounding the metaverse, but for the purpose of having our user form an initial opinion, we created a space that housed the “utopian” thoughts and “dystopian” thoughts alike, while having the art direction reflect that.
Iteration 1
I went through a series of explorations to try to strike the ideal balance of thoughts within the space. The core feedback we got was to create a smaller space but get that right versus a bigger unmanagable space.
Iteration 2
After considering the feedback, I went back to the drawing board to create a more focused space centering around an element that teleport the user to the utopian and dystopian sides.
Interactions form a core part of this experience. It’s used to guide a user through a space, provide an entertaining way to experience audio as well communicate the various thoughts
Since we wanted to focus on getting expert as well as everyday people’s opinion, we solved this by using shapes. The spheres symbolized everyday people’s opinions and complex shapes, the experts.
Representational of the “expert” thoughts, these sculpted artworks provided a more authoritarian aesthetic.
The bubbles provided a more fluid and ambient aesthetic for the noice users to house their thoughts.
When a user ‘Teleports’ to the dystopian side of the space, the sphere take on a red glow. This forms a greater contrast within its dark surroundings.
It was a pleasure to display this piece as part of our prototyping exhibit. Overall Thoughtpool received a great response and actionable feedback for the future.
" There's a strong sense of dynamism as I navigate through the space."
" The sound design feels really engaging and immersive"
Through our prototyping exhibit, I got a lot of feedback and observed how a user would navigate the space.
In total I had ~10 people spend more than 6 minutes with the experience.
"Really, really impressive. I like how I can hear people talk positively about the metaverse but then teleport to another area and hear something that makes me skeptical"
"This is so cool! I love the graphics and feel of the game"
"The bubbles may seem like they need to be avoided rather that interacted with."
"It could benefit with an onboarding" - to help orient the user.
I'll be building it out with another team member as an interactive platform.
June - August 2022
