Carpe Diem - An approach to email in VR...

Virtual Reality Interface - exploring new territory

I wanted to share a proof of concept I have created to test some ideas about user interface (UI) for VR. There are now a lot of great games for VR and some other great ways to experience story and explore environments. However the actual mechanics of how we will interact with operating systems and the kind of work we will be doing in VR in years to come is still very much in its infancy development-wise.

A lot is said regarding workstation ergonomics, in regards to both safety and productivity, and this thinking needs to expand to encompass psychological ergonomics - how spaces affect the way people work. The logical starting point is found in architecture and interior design, where designers have been actively engaging with this problem for a long time.   In the extension to VR we are in new territory where designers will have to re-evaluate many of the constraints working in the real world imposes while abiding by necessary parameters that define meaningful human experience. I am sure at some point it will become its own discipline - a meeting point between architecture and UX/UI design.

In it's broadest sense, working with a computer is immersing yourself in metaphor. The idea that we move windows around and use a filing system is a metaphor that has been with us since the start of personal computing. In designing for VR we as designers have the opportunity to experiment with and evaluate which metaphors allow which tasks to be achieved. In the same way the language which we speak creates different thought structures, the metaphor that we use is a medium that we are immersed in and has invisible currents that affect us. We will have to ask ourselves – What are we saying by invoking this metaphor? To what extent are we using this metaphor to our advantage and at what point do we need to acknowledge its limitations? We'll be operating in the same territory as dreams so an understanding of the power of symbolism will be an integral part of the process.

Carpe diem: A VR email prototype:

My idea here is to make a reactive and integrated environment where certain functions are represented in harmony with the theme of the environment – a way to interface with the environment to do various tasks that now require you to leave VR and interrupt your flow of thoughts and work. This flow and the ability to maintain it, already under such strain from our current technological environment, will continue to be crucial in the future. The ergonomics of a new interface paradigm should consider how this precious mental space can be facilitated and channeled.

Here is a brief outline of the demo I have created. I built this as a demo rather than just sketching out some concepts because I wanted to experience it and decide if it actually worked, if it was useful or added to my experience. A few caveats – in no way is this a replacement for an email browser, for reasons I will outline. Also I am not a programmer, having done VFX and Concept Art for most of my career, so I am sure many of the things I was trying to achieve could have been done faster and better, but as it is a proof of concept I am happy with it as an exploration of the possibilities.

The scenario:

I am imagining a home space, much like a desktop, a designed environment formulated for the task you are wanting to achieve, but one that also that conveys a mindset that is conducive to the work. Oculus, for instance, is aware that people are wanting this kind of space and are doubtlessly taking steps to allow for a more personalized home in VR in future releases of the software – the opportunities will eventually exist to have a market for designer/bespoke spaces, that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also useful.

As with the democratization of filmmaking, the technology will doubtlessly evolve to allow all who want to to create this space for themselves, while still leaving room for professionals who understand aesthetics and the psychology of interaction to create these spaces for others – much in the same way there is a market for beautiful, personalized architecture alongside mass produced houses.

The demo addresses email, which will become obsolete soon enough as communication unites its  arbitrarily separated modes (email, text, voice call etc). We are currently in the transition phase where these forms have migrated onto one device. Carpe Diem is an attempt at an interface that allows you to access and read (a subset of) your email while in VR.

In this case, the scenario is a Japanese garden, a place of serenity and contemplation, perhaps sculpting or painting an object, or performing some task that hasn't been invented yet, sitting by a pond. You notice that a particularly beautiful large fish has surfaced. You recognize the markings of the fish as belonging to a good friend of yours. You reach into the pond to pick up the Koi, as you bring it out of the water it transforms into an origami Koi, you pull gently and the fish unfurls into a sheet of paper – your friend’s email is written on the parchment for you to read. When finished you release the paper and  as it drops into the pond it re-transforms into the fish.

Mood boards:

Reference for general feel for Japanese garden.

Koi and pond reference.

Origami Koi reference.

During the development I watched some of the Google Daydream Labs presentations where they talk specifically about prototyping and some of the pitfalls. This led me to define the scope of the project and work towards that specifically so as not to get bogged down in an absolutely enormous project.

Outline:

Koi have to :

• swim and stay in the pond
• pick random points within the pond to swim to
• avoid each other
• be identifiable from one another
• come to the user somehow
• be picked up
• become origami
• unfold to become a sheet of paper
• become a readable email
• reverse the process to return to the pond.

Sounds simple enough :)

The Result:

This post is already pretty long. If you just want to take a look at the result here it is:

Where to from here?

As I mentioned earlier this demo isn't going to replace an email browser, for a few reasons. One is that I am doubtful that a user could easily distinguish between say six or seven Koi in a pond at a glance. That may be helped if the user was able to set their own skin pattern – with the option of course of straying further from realism to other kinds of textures – in the demo I added a few others such as kimono silk patterns that were still sympathetic to the theme. When you break it down an email browser does a lot with a relatively simple interface, so the question becomes what the essential functions useful to this environment are. Is it realistic to expect someone to write an email this way and throw it into the pond to send it? How do you search? Or look for an old email? I have a few ideas that might be incorporated into a future version if I decide to take it forward. For me it was a good learning exercise and a good jumping-off point for further exploration of VR interface design.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment or share if you found the project interesting :)

I'll put up a bit more on the development process in the next post.