PROJECT OVERVIEW:
In Spring 2020, I was called to help the Advanced Game Studio class create a Virtual Reality game based on Buggy, a student-led "relay race" held at the annual university Spring Carnival. As a long-standing CMU tradition, Buggy involves student teams that build and race gravity vehicles (buggies), which are completely engine-less, manually steered by one driver inside, and pushed along the course by runners. Here's a video to better explain the sport that is Buggy:
PROJECT GOAL
The year 2020 represented the 100th anniversary of Buggy at CMU, and the AGS class was tasked to create a full, standalone experience that celebrates the history of Buggy, to be showcased at the Buggy Centennial celebration at the Spring Carnival. We initially worked to develop an all-immersive VR racing game. However, due to COVID-19, we pivoted towards a web-based game that transports the player through buggy history and stays true to the authentic buggy experience.
This project lasted 6 months, from December 2019, through the spring semester and the shift to online learning, to our final deadline in May 2020. Our initial development for VR began on the Oculus Rift platform, but transitioned to Unity WebGL. Find more details on the Buggy AllStars website and our very detailed development blog!
You can play the final version of Buggy AllStars below:
MY CONTRIBUTIONS:
As a mechanic and the chairman for my buggy team, SDC (Student Dormitory Council), and with my experience in design and human-computer interaction research, I was uniquely positioned to help the class achieve their goal. Therefore, I stepped in as the resident Buggy Expert and Assistant Design Lead.
As part of the leadership team, I partook in weekly leadership meetings to review the progress of the Programming, Art, and Design teams. There, I provided the voice of the buggy community and ensured that our project was a true and accurate representation of buggy. Throughout our prototyping stage I organized user interviews with buggy team members and led bi-weekly playtesting sessions. Within the Design team, I also helped develop the UX/UI design as we transitioned to a web-based platform, and I designed the logo for our game development studio, Strike Force Studios.
Screenshots of final in-game UI
Strike Force Studios logo that I designed