Software
Unreal Engine
Company
Team Storm VR
Timing
However long you want to explore, to finish the game depends on your ability to find the clues and piece it together.
Instructions UX
There are very little instructions, only three buttons to show you the menu. For movement in space, I had to figure it out. I also didn’t know what I could touch, grab, press, until I was in the space for a while and figured that out. Only a couple items here and there are interactive, so it was a bit frustrating not being able to touch some things. It was also hard to hold items and use them properly because I wasn’t sure how to let things go. It took away from the immersiveness and was a bit frustrating to know what works and what doesn’t. I stopped playing because a dropped a paper (even though I didn’t let go of the item) and I was frustrated.
Narration
You hear yourself saying “I’m so cold.” The loud wind and snowfall sounds were more of a narrator in guiding the story. At times your character exclaims something about needing to hurry as a way to incite action from your part.
Subtitles
No subtitles, you just wake up in a blizzard.
Story Arch
Storm is a game about identity, and about destiny. Storm lives somewhere between a film and a game. We were inspired by the visual beauty of extreme environments; an aesthetically beautiful but deadly experience where your body is pushed to the extreme. THE FUTURE The snowstorm is just the beginning of a bigger project. We have 5 further levels planned out, and a detailed script in-progress. Each level will take place in different environments. A desert sandstorm, a jungle, a city. And each level will be connected by a narrative where your quest for survival is intertwined with your ability to resolve the mystery around your identity.
Framing
The shots were full environments, you have hands, but no body. What was incredible was the moving in space, you could select and jump to different locations, a bit like a point and click method.
Color Palette
It was in color and realistically rendered as good as possible. The wind/snow was a large part of the visuals
Composition
You just wander about the environment, not seeing much in the distance because of the weather. It’s based on the well defined isolated place, so there was a gaming location kind of setup (different environments, nooks and crannies), but you don’t have a sense of direction which makes it more difficult.
Point of View
You are the protagonist, lost in the snowy environments, you move in the space and figure out with the few props there that you should collect, interact and decode items. You can explore as you please which is nice, but I got frustrated a bit that I couldn’t go further because the physical use of the items was difficult to manage. It requires a lot of effort, but it is very addictive, because you are piecing things together slowly and frustrated slightly, I would have continued if the physics of handling clues wasn’t too difficult. What’s worth mentioning, because the physical movement in the space is easy to comprehend you don’t get ill at all, your comfort level is high.
Looking Around
You look all around, but you don’t see much in the distance so I generally switched views via the buttons because then I would go in that direction. In general, I didn’t look around much with my head because navigation was easiest by shifting buttons. It was highly immersive and visually stunning.
Storytelling
You go at your own pace, the exploring is entirely up to you.
Sound
It was immersive voice over sound, sound effects were mapped and placed in the space which encouraged me to turn and look around. The soundtrack in the locations really did add to the atmosphere of the space.
EEL VR Storytelling Research 