A cooperative submarine game designed on Ohio State University campus. One player drives a submarine with nothing but a paper map, the other player operates a periscope that can only see above the water. Together they much communicate to avoid obstacle above and below the waves and make it to their destination.
Building the Periscope
We wanted to have a game with a digital and physical component. VR headsets have the potential to be isolating, but by mounting it on a fixed tripod (or hanging it from the ceiling) we make it a window to an imaginary exterior that the player can view or leave at will while communicating.
For this initial prototype, we 3D printed a custom hinge that could mount into a standard tripod bracket.

This is what the periscope operator sees

We built the 3D submarine world in Unreal Engine using a mix of library and custom assets (assets made my Mila Gajic). 
The other player would steer the submarine using Oculus controllers and a physical map. Players would need to communicate in order to communicate location, orientation, and speed to the Navigator (steering player) and the Navigator would need to communicate to the Periscope operator hidden obstacles noted on the map, but not visible above the water's surface. (Final graphic design by Mila Gajic) 
In designing the level, we use a mix of tricks to slowly increase the difficulty. Initially surface landmarks are plentiful and obvious and underwater obstacles are infrequent and regularly shaped. As the players progress, obstacles require greater precision and players must learn to use shapes, colors, and patterns in the landscape to communicate location.
Team: Juan Diego (Navigator console design), Mila Gajic (modeling, shading, lighting, graphic design), Thomas Ellsworth (game design, UI design, game programming, periscope design)
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