Content Guidelines - LiminalVR/DeveloperWiki GitHub Wiki

Here are some guidelines for creating successful content for the Liminal platform. These guidelines serve in addition to the information in our psychology documentation available at the link below. Access to these documents is given to developers working on creating content. Please contact us to request access.

Liminal Psychology Documentation

In order to ensure content that is effective, enjoyable, and appropriate, each Experience submitted to the Liminal platform will be reviewed after submission.

• Look at the Experiences that are currently on the platform and create a concept that is different to what currently exists.
• Concepts should tie together both the psychological aim of the Experience (ie: Calming) with the design in a way that is satisfying for the end user.
• Remember that many of the users of Liminal apps will not necessarily be game enthusiasts. The idea should appeal to a wide audience.
• Duration should be 3 - 10 minutes long.
• Consider the replayability of your Experience if you want returning users.

• Is the design supported by the research from our psych docs?
• Are the aesthetics of the Experience that you are creating consistent? Unless there is a clearly user-motivated reason why, art styles should not clash in different areas or moments of the Experience. In addition, elements such as sound and the interface should have a consistent implementation.
• Make use of VR space - both in terms of depth and 360 environment.
• It's possible to have an engaging Experience where the user spends most of their time looking between 90 and 180 degrees. However, the 3D design should help direct the user’s gaze towards the relevant area. Other space in the 360 environment should support the main focus of the design.
• Liminal encourages users to wear headphones while using the platform. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee they will always be able to hear well due to factors such as environment noise, headphone quality, etc. Ensure that the essential elements in your project rely on more than just sound to be successful.
• Users in VR establish their relationship with their physical location by subconsciously determining a frame of reference that acts as a stable reference to surrounding content. For instance, a cockpit surrounding the user may effectively act as a frame of reference in a flight simulator. This has more to do with what the person identifies as most important to their personal stability in the spatial environment than what is the largest scale phenomenon surrounding them, though they can often be one and the same.
• VR sickness - designs should ensure that the majority of users will not feel dizzy, nauseous, or show other signs of VR sickness.
• Animation is an effective tool for controlling mood and emotion, even with simple assets.

• Interaction will help to ensure the player remains engaged.

• Use controllers - there are more possibilities if your Experience is interactive.
• Are the controls intuitive?
  • Will the user easily understand how they are meant to interact with the Experience?
  • The user should never feel like they don’t understand what they are supposed to do or that something is broken in the Experience.
  • If there may be confusion, rethink your interaction paradigm and try and simplify it.
• With currently supported technology, mobile VR controllers cannot track position and only work with rotation. Therefore, interactions that involve pointing and directing motion by aim work better than those than require specific location.
• Consider what would happen if the user does not have access to a controller, would they still be able to complete the Experience, or is it possible to have an option for modified use without controller?

• It is also wise to include safeguard measures.
  • For instance, in Liminal’s Splat! Experience, if the user doesn’t activate the main sequence by looking at one of the floating paint blobs, text will appear after several seconds to help direct the user’s actions.
• Include visual and auditory responsive elements that help the user understand when they have activated something and provide feedback to their actions.
• Interactions that use the unique capabilities of VR, in particular 3D depth and space, are generally more interesting and satisfying.