Welcome to our feature series, Inside XR Design, where we delve into specific examples of exceptional XR design. In this edition, we’ll be exploring the virtual reality game Electronauts and the valuable lessons it offers in smart VR interface design.
Editor’s Note: It’s hard to believe that seven years have passed since the release of Electronauts! Featured in the pilot episode of Inside XR Design four years ago this month, Electronauts continues to be a source of inspiration for VR interface design.
In honor of these dual milestones, we’re revisiting this episode of Inside XR Design to showcase the game’s innovative interface design, highlighting its emphasis on ease-of-use, hierarchy, and flexibility.
You can watch the full video below or keep reading for a condensed text version.
Electronauts is a music creation game developed by Survivors, designed to empower players to feel like skilled DJs, regardless of their musical abilities. Compatible with all major VR headsets, you can read our comprehensive review here.
While it may seem that the game’s interface is only relevant to music, the reality is quite different. The design of the Electronauts interface is inherently clever and offers insights that extend beyond music and rhythm games.
Three key pillars underpin the greatness of this interface: ease-of-use, hierarchy, and flexibility.
Ease-of-Use
While providing players with drumsticks in a game featuring drum-like instruments may seem intuitive, what’s truly ingenious is utilizing the drumsticks as tools for navigating the interface. Humans possess an innate ability to manipulate tools, with studies demonstrating that with practice, we subconsciously view tools as extensions of ourselves.
In Electronauts, the extended reach offered by the drumsticks allows for a comfortably large interface, overcoming precision challenges and making the interface more user-friendly with reduced chances of errors.
This concept is evident in how the game’s buttons operate. Rather than the conventional touch-to-activate approach, Electronauts opts for a method that prioritizes precision and reliability. To engage a button, players insert their drumstick into the button and then pull the trigger.
This innovative solution addresses the lack of physical feedback in VR. Physical buttons in real life are designed with tactile feedback in mind, aiding in reliable activation. In the absence of physical resistance against the drumstick in VR, accurately targeting and activating a simulated button can be challenging.
By requiring users to align the drumstick with the button and then trigger the selection, the game significantly enhances the precision of button interactions compared to a traditional button simulation.
Hierarchy
Hierarchy is a fundamental aspect of any interface, dictating how functions are organized logically for easy recollection and access.
Electronauts employs a clever hierarchy where all game functions are encapsulated within tools, each represented by a cube. To access a tool’s functions, simply place the cube onto a pedestal.
Think of each cube as a mini-app, reminiscent of smartphone icons containing specific functionalities. This approach simplifies the process of locating specific functions without overwhelming the user by displaying all functions simultaneously.
With a maximum of three active cubes at a time, Electronauts strikes a balance with a well-structured hierarchy that isn’t overly complex. Excessive hierarchical layers can lead to prolonged search times for desired functions, even if the organization is clear.
Continue reading on Page 2: Flexibility »
