Few games have explored the benefits of immersive walking in virtual environments and how it can be used to improve flow and immersion. To better understand these issues, we created a virtual reality experience based on the world of Krinkle Krusher, a game developed by the Brazilian game studio Ilusis Interactive Graphics.
In the original game, the player uses magic spells to defend a castle against hungry and funny creatures called krinkles. However, players have a fixed point of view and cannot move in the environment. Using the facilities of the Institute for Creativity, Arts & Technology, the CHCI team and the studio’s art director designed and developed a small version of the game that allows two or more players to walk around the castle’s courtyard and engage the krinkles from a first person perspective.
To increase the feeling of immersion, we used a Leap Motion camera to track and reconstruct the player’s hands in the virtual world, instead of using traditional videogame controls. This allows players to cast the spells using natural hand gestures and coordinate actions between themselves. As the spatial qualities become apparent, new strategies for playing the game emerge and make the game more fun.
The project is a creative exploration in computer science, visual arts and design and can be a potential starting point for future research in game design, VR locomotion, and immersive interactive art.
Conferences
Krinkle Cube Conference
Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play Companion Extended Abstracts - CHI PLAY Companion textquoteright16, ACM Press ACM Press, Austin, Texas, USANew York, New York, USA, 2016, ISBN: 9781450344586.