Plus X Showroom, Virtual Gallery and Bridge Game

Plus X Showroom,

Virtual Gallery and Bridge Game

Plus X has been creating the most optimal solutions for brand eXperiences to keep abreast of changing technologies. For the past 11 years, we have provided a consistent brand eXperience regardless of on/offline boundaries. Based on what we've accomplished so far, we now want to propose a new way of defining creativity.

A new corporate vision of Plus X is Creative Singularity, which means we are a group that makes a singularity for creative eXperiences beyond the brand eXperiences. From now on, we will combine creativity and technology to provide exceptional solutions for brand eXperience. As the first step of that change, we exhibit our representative portfolios and achievements in a new virtual showroom format.

Prologue

Following the internet and mobile revolutions, the metaverse is a megatrend expected to be a significant inflection point. The digitization, accelerated by the pandemic, reflects and expands the real world, creating a new environment. Therefore, we expect to realize the eXperience of the natural world in the virtual environment and embody optimal creativity.

Plus X Showroom is just the first step. We wanted to prove how Plus X will provide differentiated brand eXperiences in the future. By developing a 3D virtual space, anyone interested in Plus X can see the projects we've been working on and the awards we've won at numerous competitions.

Space

Plus X Showroom is a digital space consisting of four floors, three above the ground and one under. BX and UX/UI portfolios are displayed on the 1st and 2nd floor respectively. On the 3rd floor, the achievements from the global awards, such as iF, IDEA, and Reddot, are shown. The basement has been decorated to be able to experience the 'squid game,' which crazed the world. Plus X Showroom consists of monotone colors and low illumination so that users can focus on a variety of contents. We used Octane Renderer, an Unbiased Render Engine, to create textures with realistic lighting and shadows. In addition, soft lighting lines were installed on all floors to convey a real space and a future-oriented mood at the same time. Spatial 3D modeling was advanced through the web development test process, and the implementation efficiency on the web was improved by standardizing object tags for each function.

Archives

Plus X has worked on over 130 consulting projects in over 40 business categories over the past 11 years. Moreover, through this, we won 156 prizes at national and international prestigious design awards, and 14 of them took the place of the Grand Prize.

The globally recognized and constantly evolving creativity of Plus X will continuously be updated in the Plus X Showroom. Our unique asset, project portfolios, will be archived as contents in this virtual gallery. Therefore, anyone who lives anywhere in the world can consistently view our outstanding creativity.

Interface

Plus X Showroom is a virtual space where you can freely view works in an online environment. Existing websites that utilize vertical scrolling induce users to consume content according to the provider's intention. However, the new Plus X Showroom allows users to freely explore the space and consume content.

To this end, Plus X focused on optimizing the existing 2D online environment into 3D. Digital noise effect, first-person view, navigator, etc., are utilized to compose an interface like a digital game. Through this, users can quickly recognize the UI and consume content intuitively, even in a virtual space.

Normal mode

The 'Normal' mode of the showroom experience mimics a typical FPS game controls where users can control the character in first-person by moving their mouse to freely look around while using keyboard keys to strafe their characters at the same time. To achieve this full rotation view controls on the browser, a pointer-lock mechanism is applied. In the four-floor showroom, users can move between them by using the stairs. Within each floor, clicking on individual works displayed in the space brings up the detailed information of each work. Fixed at the the bottom of the user's screen are mini map and compass UI elements that shows their real time position and the direction they are heading in and this is updated even while users quickly jump between the 4-floors via a menu that can be accessed by pressing on the 'Q' keyboard key. By pushing the boundaries of the environment and the elements that can enjoyed in the user experience, the 'Normal' mode experience is more than just a simple 3D online exhibition.

Easy mode

On top of the first person full experience, we also developed an 'Easy' mode where users can effortless go through the entire experience by just scrolling on desktops, or by swiping on their mobile devices, without having to control their movements and view separately. 'Easy' mode is designed to update the user's camera coordinates and rotation along a pre-calculated path as the user scrolls their mouse or swipes on their devices. In order to increase the efficiency of creating paths that require fine and iterative modifications, a 3D-based tool was separately developed that utilizes the identical environment that the user's sees. By simply clicking on a desired location in the 3D space, camera coordinates and rotation values can be added, and each points are then automatically calculated and connected by a Bezier curve to generate a user path. Additionally, real-time editing can be done through quick switching between the editing view and the user's point of view which makes the testing process much more efficient.

3D Contents Editing Tool

We have developed a separate content editing tool that makes it easy to display and manage content during the process of creating a showroom. Within the same 3D environment as the user, you can click on the wall of the desired space to add contents and change it's location and size by dragging. This content editing tool is connected to a CMS to upload files or modify information, which is then stored on a server and can be checked and managed in real time.

CMS

Plus X has made all content into APIs in the showroom to upload additional works and expand the platform continuously. In addition, it is designed to extract statistical data that can collect/analyze users' activity and behavioral patterns within the platform, and we will provide users with a more enjoyable experience based on the data.

↳ Admin

In the early stage of web development, we quickly built a CMS by utilizing the Admin function provided by the Django framework. After that, however, we customized the CMS to execute various skills and complex functions.

↳ Gallery Management

Within CMS, the gallery management page is where the administrator can create/modify galleries flexibly. As there are sub-galleries such as normal, editing, and easy mode that developers can select or expand, the users can experience the data in various forms.

↳ Work Management

Within CMS, the work management page allows the administrator to create and manage new content. In addition, the administrator can preview the image and layout of the content in the web environment. Therefore, it allows administrators to customize the user experience intuitively.

↳ Statistics API

Plus X Showroom utilizes FastAPI and ELK Stack to manage various user data and traffic. These features make it possible to provide data to users with the CMS while at the same time collecting user behavior using APIs. The administrators can obtain statistical analysis on which areas and spaces users are interested in through data. As a result, it is possible to set the direction for improving user experience based on this.

Bridge Game

Plus X wanted to add user interaction elements to Showroom, a content exhibition space. So we developed our own game to create a space that users can enjoy beyond simply receiving information. Bridge Game was inspired by the crossing the glass bridge in 'Squid Game' that crazed the world. While the game was developed as a digital showroom version, players can share their play. They can access it through the Showroom basement or directly through the link. In addition, they can play the game only by clicking left or right in a mobile environment, which is not easy to operate.

Players should cross the bridge in 12 stages to win the game, and three chances are given. Of course, they may retry after all the opportunities, but the bridges will be remixed. There is only a 0.024% chance that players will succeed on their first try, but with three chances, don't you think you can get lucky and successfully cross the bridge? If a player crosses all the stages and enters the Success Room, the score will be recorded in the order of time taken. In particular, the Hall of Fame will keep scoring the top 30. We hope everyone will succeed by overcoming the hesitation between life or death at every step and the fear that falls under the bridge.

A hero never dies.