Resarch Proposal For 360 Video Project

Research Overview

I will be creating a horror experience where you will be exploring a post-apocalyptic city and you will someone just trying to survive in this world I could include zombies and other monsters. Also this won’t be the only environment you will be exploring I was thinking that you could start off in a underground tube station and slowly work your way to the surface to reveal the destroyed city.

I will be making it a 360 video because it would allow someone to feel like they are in that world and compared to other options like AR, Zapworks & VR those don’t really fit what I am going for since I want a very detailed environment and in general a immersive experience which you don’t get with the other options as you wouldn’t be able to walk around the environment and VR art is mainly designed for rough sketches you wouldn’t be able to create very detailed texture work on the models that I would want for my project.

User Experience Considerations

When creating my experience I will have to keep in mind if this they first time using VR so at the beginning of the 360 video just allow them to just look around and get used to the headset and how to use it before continuing the experience.

Also, some users could experience motion stickness when using VR so I am going to try and reduce this by keeping the camera movement slow and not have sudden moments where something is chasing you so the camera will be fast or if possible allow the person to control the camera at all times to prevent this issue completly and the reason people can get motion stickness from VR is because their brain is telling them they are moving when in reality they are still standing still using their VR headset.

Also, if I am going to include text such as UI or a part where you have to read something such as something you find in the environment such as text on a wall or a note found in a room etc I would need to make the text large in size as it can be hard to read in VR and placing it on a curved surface instead of a flat one can make the text more readable.

When making my VR expereince I need to make sure it’s not too long because along periods of using a VR headset can cause eye strain so I need to make sure I don’t drag out my 360 video too much and make sure the parts that I include in the video need to be there for the expereince to be great or if it would be fine if I didn’t include that section of the video.

Moodboard

Visual Inspirations

Underground Tube Environment

As mentioned eariler, I was thinking you could start in a underground tube station this mainly based on the underground stations in London and one spefically which is Aldwych station the reason I went with this idea is because the idea of a place that should busy and full of life but is completely empty and rotting away I find very eerie.

Also, with this sequence I was thinking it you could start on a train and everything is normal then it suddenly turns into what is in the modern day and this sequence would allow the user get used to moving the camera since the character won’t be moving just sat on a train.

City Environment

This will be the main environment for my project and how I want the city is to be overgrown by nature and when creating it It’s going to be a mix between London & New York as I will take aspects from both of those cities to create mine such as some of the landmarks and it will be easier to do it this way because as these places already exist and I know what they should look like and I can take those areas make them completely overgrown & destroyed.

Aesthetic wise I want to the city be a combination of the Last of us and the atmosphere of the Slient Hill and what I mean by this the building’s and general look will take from the Last of us mainly the seattle in the game where it’s all covered in vines etc. Since I want this to be a horror experience so I want it to be creepy I am going to cover the city part completely in fog as this would limit your visibility so you will be always on edge as you don’t know what could be out there and you would feel completly isolated since you are all alone in this city.

The video below shows the general idea how I would want the final experience to be like as you can only hear the sound of your footsteps and the unsettling sounds & music in the background that enchance the experience to make it feel more creepy than it already is and this shows the town completly in fog you can’t barely see anything only stuff that is right in front of you that’s how I want the fog to work in my project.

Figure 7 – Silent Hill – First Nightmare (360º VR Experience) (Project Ravenlight, 2020)

This video also made me think of the type of sounds I could use in my project I was thinking I could include breathing and it gets heavier for example if you think you saw something in distance and keeps on getting worse until you encounter whatever is out there. I am going to include other ambience sounds such as birds chirping and in general I will try to make or source sounds that make you feel uneasy I could inlcude music to try to set the mood of a particular section of the video.

For example if I wanted a scene where a zombie or monster is walking around but hasn’t noticed you yet I would want the music to make you feel constant sense of dread and any wrong move and you will be noticed and it’s over for you.

Another Concept For the Appearance of the City

When coming up with the idea of making a post apocalyptic city I am debating on the idea of including scfi elements in my project it could have a cyberpunk aesthetic to it. My main inspiration for this idea was some Half Life 2 Concept Art as these art pieces have abit of a unnatural feeling to them especially the sky as normally the sky wouldn’t be dark green it gives the feeling something has gone completely wrong and lighting always being very dark adds to this as there is no day light at all it’s like the sun has completly turned off with a switch.

Also, this concept art gives the feeling that this place is the last place of humanity and it’s barely hanging on and you have no free will and you are always being watched and if you do anything against the rules of this city you will be killed.

These are ideas I could explore with my experience I mainly want to take the look and feel of this concept art and turn into a 3D environment as I believe it would work really well for a horror experience I could make unnatural creatures that wander around this city to enforce the rules like some exterminator and there could be some regular people around the city but wearing gas masks as the city is so polluted that you can’t walk around without it this could be the fog like effect instead of it being actual fog.

Also due to how dark it is at all times that would work for a horror location however the only downside with this apporach is the visibility you still need to be able to see what you are doing when walking around I could implement a torch that you could use to help to see things more easily or have some lamp posts all around the city and some lights coming off the buildings to make the visibility much better.

Figure 12 – Half Life 2 Concept Art 1
(Half Life Project Beta, N.D.)

Combining the Two Concepts of the City Together & SCFI Architecture

I could take the approach of combining these concepts together like I can still keep the overgrown aspect of my 1st idea like parts of the city could be run down like that and only small sections of the city are still being maintained this would help give the feeling of that humanity is on the risk of extinction if the world stays this way. But I would have the look and the atmosphere of the 2nd idea also if I go with the appearance of the 2nd idea I could make more interesting looking buildings as with sc-fi they tend to make buildings not just be rectangular they add different shapes such as traingles, circles to the tower and in general making them alot more curved in appearance to make them futuristic.

Figure 16- Sci Fi Futuristic Building 1 (3DmKits, N.D.)

Music Inspirations

As mentioned earlier, I would like to include music in my project as this will add more immersion to the experience and I want the music to make feel creeped out and generally uneasy when experiencing my 360 video and one of my inspirations was Stone Tower Temple theme from Majora’s Mask this track has such a ominous feeling to it but the flute in the track feels like it’s reminding you need to keep on going and it gives you hope this fits the tone of my experience perfectly because your in world that seems completly void of hope but you know you need to keep on going and survive.

Figure 20 – Stone Tower Temple – Zelda Majora’s Mask (Sheiky, 2007)

However, I don’t want all the tracks in my project to be creepy I believe there should be a balance between the horror and a moment where you can take a breather so I would like a calming track aswell in my project like this would be area where you know you are safe this could take place after a encounter with a zombie. I was thinking this track would be similar to save room themes from the Resident Evil games in this case I felt the save room theme from Code Veronica as this track is very calming and sounds very peaceful so you know you are for a moment from the monsters that are out there trying to get you.

Figure 21 – Resident Evil Code Veronica X – A moment of Relief (Save room) (SoundtrackMon, 2010)

Also, making the music memorable is also important as if it’s sticks out in a person’s mind they might talk about it to a friend or a coworker etc and they are a couple of ways you can make the music memorable this can by making it catchy so it’s easy to remember this is usually done by that melody easy to follow but at the same time I need to keep creepy feeling to the music.

A track that does this well is the main menu theme for PS2 version of Half Life 1 as it has a mysterious feeling to it but at the same it’s abit unsettling so you can get the underlying feeling whatever will happen won’t be good despsite not knowing what it is and it has a simple melody so it’s easier for you to remember it.

Figure 22 – Half-Life OST (PS2) MENULOOP (clipsvh, 2010)

Usage of Ambience Sounds In My Project & Other Sounds

Music is only one side of audio I would like to explore in this project I would like to make the usage of ambience sounds in my project because this can make the experience more unsettling if Implemented right and eariler I mentioned a moment where a zombie hasn’t noticed you yet for a scene like that I would loud footsteps and depending on where the zombie is located they would quieter and when they are really close to you it would be very loud.

Also, for the Zombies or monsters in general they should sound unsettling like making distorted sounds such as breathing, moans etc and for example I could record a dog barking and edit that audio until it sounds nothing like the original and it sounds like nothing you have heard before and that what makes it unsettling or I could use samples.

Alot of ambience sounds are for the environment such as the wind howling in the background or the rain pouring down these are usually done to set the mood of a scence or the general atmosphere they are trying to create in my case for underground tube tunnel I could implement creaking noises when you walk up a staircase & buzzing sounds from broken lights and drops of water leaking from pipes etc.

Storyboard

Here’s the initial storyboard I created this is a very brief
outline of what I want to happen when you start the experience these sections
would be a lot longer and have more depth in the actual experience for example
the part where you would encounter the zombie or creature would be a stealth
section of course you wouldn’t be able to move the character walking around
this world apart from looking around since it’s just a 360 video but it should give you feeling and the
rush of sneaking around to avoid enemies.

Later on you would find weapons and fight back and maybe encounter other characters that can assist you on surviving this would allow me to add more depth to the world and make it feel more alive since you won’t be the only survivor left in this world and generally there would be objects around this world that will give you clues on how the world got in the current state it is in and I would try to make some of these abit hidden so you wouldn’t find them on the first time watching the video but on the 2nd time around you might look in a different direction and find it.

Production Schedule

This is my current production schedule and it is subject to change as when developing this project some tasks could take longer than expected or quicker and more tasks could be added as this schedule is a general overview of what I should get done by the end of the project. Also, I will use Hack & Plan to set weekly tasks for myself so I know what needs to be done each week and I can keep track of what I have currerntly done, what’s in progress and what I have planned for my project.

Reference List

Neil Bruce – (5th of August 2022) Abandoned Tube Station Tunnel

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