Defining the Perfect Virtual Reality Experience
Virtual Reality is becoming more topically relevant as time goes on. More and more people are jumping on the hype train and pouring small fortunes into making their experience better and more immersive. What does it take to create such an experience? What makes a good, engaging virtual reality design? If this topic interests you, check it out:
I know what you’re thinking, why are the best iOS and Android Developers in Calgary talking about virtual reality? Ever heard of the Samsung Gear VR? You need your phone for that. Mobile happens to be our passion, and with phones moving into the virtual reality realm, it needs to be something developers are at least acknowledging as relevant. So what does it take to bring a good experience in virtual reality? With virtual reality it’s all about immersion, and that passes through to every aspect such as:
The Experience
What sort of experience will you give your user? Will you thrill or scare them? Will it be educational, emotional, or sensational? The general trick when it comes to crafting a good user experience is “can my user control the environment?” and “to what degree can they control their environment?” It’s tough since virtual reality is so new but the less control the user has over their environment, the more frustrated they will become. Creating good UI requires a little out of the box thinking. Conventional UI unfortunately cannot cut it anymore since a lot of it can ruin the whole immersion experience. Here’s a couple points:
- Keep your experience engaging: don’t bore your users otherwise it will create a vicious cycle
- Live your fantasy: VR gives the ability to do things you maybe COULD do in real life but may not want to do such as exploring a cave, walking in space, or travelling to another destination
- An exotic destination: VR gives the chance to immerse yourself in beautiful details of your environment, fly over the Mediterranean or brave the elements of the desert, don’t be afraid to get creative
Remember that if you’re bored and not enjoying your experience, your users certainly won’t keep it engaging, interesting, and visually stimulating to create a winning virtual reality experience recipe!
User Interface (UI)
This might actually be undervalued in your ideas but UI can actually make or break your virtual reality application. Even in apps there is something to be said for a visually appealing UI, that’s why we offer the best the iOS and Android Development in Calgary. Simply because the interface also has to do with the VR app itself. Here’s a few points on what I mean:
- Virtual Environment: Don’t let your user get motion sick! Use visual anchors such as hands to hold your users eyes and keep them from getting sick. Keep any UI elements such as HUD in the 3D space as 2D looks sloppy and unappealing.
- Depth: There’s tons of helpful tips for depth out there, but in summary, your user has a pretty good idea of how far away things should be, so try to keep your depth as close to reality as possible. This helps with the immersion and realism as it is a noticeable detail whether it’s done correctly or incorrectly.
- Moving: Probably the most important element of VR. When a user moves their head, their should be an immediate response. Anything delayed can cause motion sickness. Also keep in mind when a user tilts their head that the camera should also follow that tilt. A user may only be able to see in one direction, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put your all in making sure that what they do see isn’t poor quality. Keep it smooth!
- Drawing Attention: Let your creativity flow! Use sounds, colors, lightness, darkness, and other creative liberties to draw your user in to wherever they need to go. It keeps your VR app a lot more fun when a user actually know where they are supposed to go!
Marketing
Even if you have the perfect VR experience, it won’t do you any good if people don’t know about it. Here’s a couple tips on what you can do for your VR marketing to be a success:
- What’s the competition doing: Don’t reinvent the wheel! If your competition has a winning strategy, don’t be afraid to steal the ideas (just not the content).
- Pick the right store/category: With their being no virtual reality category (yet) in the stores, be sure to let people know your VR app stands apart from others. Try putting VR into the title somewhere and making sure it’s still topically relevant to what it is your app is (eg. sports).
- Consider international markets: If you think about it, it makes sense. The world is ready for virtual reality, not just America. A bit of research on other VR apps can show demographics of users, and it will likely point to other countries besides America as being users of the app. You’re only hurting yourself by restricting your apps location, so if you can, then do it!
Summary
Hopefully I was able to pique your interest a little bit in the technical side of VR. We may be an iOS and Android Developer in Calgary but believe me, we want to help you out! Blending a good experience that’s visually appealing to the eye that people are aware of through effective marketing can be the right start for your VR success. If you want to chat with us more on this then send us a message! Visit the Contact section of the site and let’s chat about what your idea is and how we can help! We would love to help you with the right direction no matter what your idea is!
References:
www.apptamin.com/blog/strategy-vr-app-marketing/
