Road map for Titanic

I was pushing back writing this entry for such a long time that I had to look through my notes to remind myself what I was going to write about. Working on two projects at the same time with loads of duties outside university is as challenging as everyone can imagine. There was always something more urgent than writing documentation for the project. It does not mean that it cannot or does not have to be done.  

I am working on several elements of my VR (Virtual Reality) Titanic experience now. I need to add scene elements (models) to the environment, as well as narration of the story (audio and text), do all the scripts for the scene changes and other interactions. I am glad that I have already implemented the most important part of the experience – 3D jigsaw puzzle. There is still a lot of work to do, but this post is not about it.  

I wanted to write about the ideas for the game and about developing the definitive version of the experience. 

As it was mentioned before in my previous posts, reaching the point where I knew I wanted to build the Titanic jigsaw puzzle VR was quite a creative journey and the outcome was not that obvious. I started growing the idea from the mosaic inspirations and ended up with a 3D jigsaw puzzle of a transatlantic ship. 

I had to think about how the experience will look and feel, what the theme will be, the main objective etc. 

I also had to plan the game (we were talking about the user journey through the game/experience during our first lecture with Herman this term); a road map had to be created. 

Inspired by the Battlescar VR cinematic experience, I decided to incorporate a pop-up book into my project. I wanted to have a book that through simple animations tells a story – about the Titanic – but not the whole story. I wanted it to be an introduction about the magnificence of the Titanic and its dramatic ending. At the same time, I did not want to copy all the stories that have already been said about the ship. I looked at the museum of Titanic website and read about the women’s role in the Titanic’s construction. I fiund it quite interesting, but also discriminating – as women finished their office work before the men finished their shift so they were not trampled by the rushing crowd. I may include a feminine element in my story. 

The pop-up book and telling the story became as important as the jigsaw puzzle element in the VR experience I have been working on.  

At the beginning of it, the player would see a pop-up book with an animation. The page would move, and the little Titanic would appear, to then grow bigger and in the end meet the iceberg. There would be a welcome text (UI) and sound in that scene, too.  

The second scene would also have a pop-up book. That would be another animated scene, where the actual story is being told – until the moment when the ships crashed on the iceberg – that would trigger the scene change to the scene number 3. My idea for the story is simple but attractive and engaging. I want the player to be immersed in the story happening in front of and around her. This scene also requires a lot of work – animations must be added, as well as the audio, story text and scripts. 

Scene number there is the one that is almost ready! That is the game scene where the player must assemble the Titanic. Is not as easy as it sounds! After the task is completed, there will be fireworks (a particle system I have just created; needs to be scripted so it is triggered by a completed ship built). 

The idea is to have another scene – number 4 that would present a “what if” scenario when the Titanic reaches its destination other than sinking in the Atlantic Ocean. This scene would also be based on the pop-up book, with the land, building and cheering crowd. I, however, have not decided at this stage if I will be able to build and add this last scene to the project. 

In case of not being able to have all 4 scenes built, the jigsaw puzzle game would be the final piece of the experience – with UI elements informing the player about it and navigating to leave/ go back to the beginning. 

The plan is in place, and there is great support from my tutor, Herman. The time and some lack of skills are the limitation, but I am working hard to overcome those obstacles and enjoy building my (VR) experience.