The World of Survival is a virtual reality platform that educates the user in how to prepare, escape, fight and generally survive in emergency situations.
Client
Digital Learning Institute
Role
UX/UI/VR Designer
Brief
Create a virtual reality course for surviving in extreme situations targetting survival enthusiasts.
Challenge
Aimed at survival enthusiasts who want to learn and practice hands-on skills in a safe environment to while being taken on a survival journey.
Objective 1
Prepare for the inevitable
Prepare an effective strategy and gather relevant survival skills to ensure safety.
Objective 2
Assess, adapt, perform
Know where to evacuate, build a base, fight off danger in an emergency situation.
Objective 3
Reflect and integrate
Learn what went well and what could be improved through an assessment based on actions performed.
Solution
Create a realistic VR experience for survival enthusiasts that prepares and teaches real-world ways of survival in different environments and landscapes.
Design Process
User research was carried out on potential survival enthusiasts and red routes established. Then a user persona was created to better understand the ideal target user. This fed into the sitemap of different experience pathway choices.
VR Scenario
To test and organise the site content a set of wireframes were developed and the structure of the site was agreed upon that ensures smooth and logical navigation.
Scene Viewpoints
An overview of the user experience from different angles giving a tangible and realistic view of the VR world.
Screenplan
A 360 degree view of the environment.
Control Guides
The hand held control guide offers the user the possibility of gaining information, insights and hints along their journey.
Prototype
Using ShapesXR a basic prototype was created that the user can click through to get to the right outcome. Here the focus is on the part where the user has to create shelter and prepare for the night ahead.
Task 1
To answer
a preparatory quiz
Task 2
To scavenge
firewood
Task 3
Build shelter using some pre-packed tools
Task 4
Build a campfire
Task 5
Look for water
Task 6
Look for food
Task 7
Defend against predatory animals or people
Task 8
Heal wounds
Result
Users tested the scenario via MetaQuest 2 VR headset and although the reviews were that the simulation was quite basic in visuals, it was a great way to learn how to survive in the wild with the navigation being straightforward and the guide easy to understand.
In the end I created a set of 3D storyboard scenes using Imagen AI and animated them using Runway AI to help the story come to life and show a more realistic version of the prototype as a promo.