Virtual Reality (VR) is an expanding market with limitless potential. Because the world of VR is so easily adaptable, there are many things that can be done with it. I personally believe that Virtual Reality is the key to a more bright and educated future. While VR has progressed far enough to allow researchers to explore the world in real-time, this sort of experience is mostly for the wealthy, and more educated citizens in our society. My Virtual Reality application seeks to change that, and bring the excitement of learning about our world to a younger audience.
My application is called Biosphere, and is a virtual zoo – without the cages. It will allow elementary and middle school aged children to really interact with animals, and explore their natural surroundings. In the game, the player will take on the role of a researcher, who has been tasked to explore a specific region and document three to four different species within a limit of five minutes. The player will use stimulated motion controls to move around the landscape, and they are able to turn their head to look around. Once the player has found the selected animal, their “field journal” will automatically be updated with factual information about that animal, which includes their zoological species name, and a random assortment of interesting facts that children are likely to find interesting. After the player has found all of the animals, or after the time has run out, the player will be taken back to a standard research lab, where they are then able to view the animals that they’ve observed. The field journal is also accessible from this screen, and players are able to see all of the animals that they’ve collected from this region. This adds a lot of replayability to the game, and is sort of like Pokemon, in the sense that you must “collect them all”.
I’d really like to reiterate the point that this application is designed for children, and is designed to get them interested in learning. Every aspect of this game has been carefully thought over to bring a fun and educational experience to children. Children are the future, quite literally, and if we can form a strong bond to education, we could improve the educational system as a whole and make a brighter future.