Designing a tutorial for a multiplatform and multiplayer virtual reality game

Abstract

In order to explore the role of virtual reality (VR) in education, the Collaborative Learning Environment in Virtual Reality (CLEVR) team is building a multiplatform and multiplayer game, Cellverse, that targets high school biology students. The game familiarizes players with cellular organelles and processes as well as encourages them to collaborate to achieve a goal. Due to the novelty of VR and the intricacy of the game, a tutorial is useful to introduce the rules and objectives of the game, and to provide an even playing field to players with various gaming and VR experiences. This thesis presents the design, implementation, and user test procedures and results of the tutorial. Specifically, it discusses the considerations around key design decisions, the problems found in user tests, and the solutions used to resolve such problems. In addition to the implementation of a tutorial for the Cellverse game, this thesis contributed towards the exploration of creating a tutorial that first works with individual players and then brings them together to collaborate from both in and out of VR.