Virtual Reality User Interface designed for the new Ghostbusters movie
Design Problem · Redesign the user interface of the Ghost Containment Unit for the new Ghostbusters movie
Role · User Research, Interaction Design, Prototyping
More like Control Room :)
Constraint
The user cannot use a touchscreen, mouse or any other physical interface as the interface will be used while wearing gloves covered in slime.
Brainstorming
· Hand gestures to overcome the constraint of user not wearing dirty gloves
· Users looks in front of the screen majority of the time
· Spatial arrangement of UI can be used to improve task time
Initial sketches
Low-fi Prototyping
(a) Paper prototyping (b) Cognitive Walkthrough
Usability Testing - Part 1
· Scroll bars don't work well in 3D environments.
· Users like to manipulate their workspace: Provide a way to close spatial menus.
· Affordances from WIMP interfaces are not always useful for 3D interfaces. Remove the close (X) button from the interface.
Interaction Design
· Minimize the use of text because of low legibility in existing Virtual Reality headsets
3D buttons, Task-based approach to menus
Direct Manipulation of information using 3D objects in the world
Arrange menus around the user to make use of spatial memory
Usability testing - Part 2
Some of the users had trouble accessing the UI elements that were lower in position. On further investigation, I found that the Leap Motion was losing tracking of the user's hands. I solved this problem by increasing the height of the UI elements and bringing them closer.
Key Takeaways
· We need to use affordances of objects from the real world to make the 3D user interfaces of the future.
· We need new prototyping tools to mock up our 3D interfaces and get user feedback quickly. (People, anyone?)
