W3-Touch

VR Experience

Big Giant

Without knowing the background of this piece, I was attracted by the story from the beginning. The haptic feedback from the vest felt "real" and helped me get into the storyline during the intro, where the mom and her daughter were playing a hand shadow game. I could build the connection a real giant was coming through the vibration and the parents' conversation. However, I felt weird or awkward viewing the story, as I was technically in the same room with them, looking at them but have no interaction. In addition, the vibration from the vest felt less convincing when I was used to the constant stimulation. I wish there were vibrators under my feet, so my whole body would feel the shake from the approaching giant. Nevertheless, I had a great fun experience in VR with the vest.

In The Eyes of The Animal

This piece was my favorite VR so far. The visuals and interactions were fascinating. Using pixel cloud and dark space in the intro put me right into the setting and ready me for an adventure. The haptic was so strong that I had to ask what this was because I didn't see anything significant moving. When I was told it was for the bugs, I felt a bit disconnected from the scene. However, the next segment, where my sight was leveled with the ground, amazed me. I discovered I could lower my body to view the world from underground. The vibration paired with the large light spots well, I could feel the size of this invisible giant animal.

From experiencing these two pieces, I learned that haptic could really help put the audience into that environment and provide a more immersive experience. However, it can also quickly offset the expertise if the haptic doesn't match its source. Nevertheless, these two are mater pieces, and I enjoyed watching them.