2020 | Dencho

GameJam [01]

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This GameJams theme was the exploration of destructible objects using magic.

The first goal was to code out a Telekinesis framework that uses a signle input to lift and throw physics bodies

Next was to make the same TK system affect structures connected by configurable joints.

Next I wrote a tool to automagically detect child rigidbodies and attach recursive connecting configurable joints to each parent/child combo according to a configuration set before runtime. Pain to write, but satisfying to test.

Next came alternate TK abilities and properties to achieve different features from the same framework.

Sadly we ran out of time, I learned in the future to make sure to work with a more capable team.

VFX Practice [05]

Wed, 13 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Rhythm based VFX, A simple test of animating VFX components to the beat, volume, and onset of an analyzed audio clip.

Turns out everything works which means I can make a rhythm game now.

Next I'll try making this work with VFXGraph and ShaderGraph.

Physics Based Exo-Skeleton Arms

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I believe VR can be a cheap and effective way to test out ideas. On day I wondered how fun it would be to give the user giant Exo Arms.

This crude prototype gave me decent understanding one how it would feel for one arm anyway.

XR Chemistry Framework

Sat, 18 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I was contacted and contracted out by a School District Manager looking for ways to Adapt XR as a means for kids to learn remotely in a more immersive way.

The things I can show from this project are limited due to an NDA

The main goal of this prototype was to create a UI capable of spawning Chemistry related instances of Molecule models and allow interaction with them for lecturing purposes in a Teacher to Student relationship.

As the project was already 12 months into development at the time I joined, I had to work well with the existing team to know where to put my code and to make sure there were no conflicts with existing UX components

Prototyping a way you can move molecules with hand tracking, even under low lighting.

The idea was that if a hand pinches near the center of a molecule group, the molecule with use the relative index finger as a Anchor with a Kinematic PID controller handling the positioning.

First I start with a Transform Marker in the form of a filling sprite, that acts as the target position for the molecule.

Now just a simple controller that takes account of the distance between the current and target points. Its always fun to see how well I can write something the first time.

Adding a Highlight to show when a molecule is a valid target to grab.

Then I made similar control method for orientation

The UX needs to be cleaned up a bit, but all in all it was a success.

VFX Practice [04]

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This was made using ShaderGraph for Unity and some C# elbow grease.

XR Player Controller [04]

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Refining one of the first Prototypes to exist (in 2020) to contain a full body avatar and finger tracking.

Devices tested:

Oculus CV1
Oculus Quest 1

Technologies used:

VRoid SDK (Avatars)
OculusVR SDK
UnityXR SDK

I was one of the first developers in the industry to achieve fullbody avatars working with finger tracking. Once you get past the hurdle of different bone orientations the rest is pretty simple, I was just a dev with just enough free time to actually do it.

Skeletal Mesh Orientation Mismatch (S.M.O.M.)

Using this formula here I was able to avoid this issue, however the custom tool I made requires a basic understanding of how Quaternions work.

Testing UI Ray Pointers with Finger Tracking.

I wrote an algorithm that tracks and predicts the tracked hands position and velocity. My goal was to Handle the case of when Hands overlap causing hand tracking to be lost due to occlusion. This algorithm understands when the Hands become occluded and attempts to predict and move the hands relative to their original trajectory at the time of occlusion.

You can see that since I am simply lerping the predicted target IK position of each hand, there is no teleporting going on when hand tracking resumes from being occluded.

When Hand tracking quality becomes low, mapping of the fingers halt and then blend to the target orientations once tracking quality is high again.

Testing relations with Physics based Grabbables when a Button magically resets an objects transform.

When this Physics button is pressed the Cubes Reset.

Nothing much to take from this other than knowing the rigidbody wont explode the Players rigidbody in some way.

There were a few setup issues with the relative Rig height. Nothing I can't handle.

Physics Based Exo-Skeleton Arms

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This was one of the most difficult prototypes for my skill level at the time. The prototype code would need to be refactored before I would attempt putting it into beta testing.

Part of the math I needed to master was how 3D normals and reflections are calculated.

Yes its a Sphere for now, but keep in mind this prototype is using RigidBodies and a Velocity PID controller that I wrote to move the body via Physics.

Testing Variable Properties out.

VFX Practice [03]

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This was made using VFXGraph for Unity.

Physics Based Buttons [02]

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Another contract to improve front-end buttons. NDA prevents me from showing the exact implementation of the new buttons but, I am allowed to show them off on my own Menu Prototype.

XR Player Controller [03]

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

One of the earliest prototypes to exist at the time (2020) that I know of, to contain a full body avatar and finger tracking.

Devices tested:

Oculus CV1
Oculus Quest 1

Technologies used:

Vroid SDK (Avatars)
Oculus VR SDK
UnityXR SDK

Skeletal Mesh Orientation Mismatch (S.M.O.M.)

S.M.O.M. happens when one mesh skeletal bone structure has incompatible orientations with another set of bones, leading to misalignment when trying to animate or manipulate them consistently. It’s essential to ensure that both hand meshes follow the same bone orientation conventions to avoid issues during animation and rigging processes. However sometimes this cant be avoided when sourcing from different third parties, in this case I had trouble aligning VRoid Hand Skeleton to match with the Hand Skeleton from the OVR SDK used for hand tracking.

Bypassing S.M.O.M.

When dealing with skeletal mesh orientation mismatches between two hand skeletons, you can use a transformation formula to align their orientations. This approach allows you to transfer the orientation from one hand to another, even if they initially have different orientations.

Using this formula here I was able to avoid this issue, however the custom tool I made requires a basic understanding of how Quaternions work.

Using a Homemade VRoid Avatar, which uses a Universal Skeleton Armature. This is what happened when trying to sync up rotations from OVR custom hand skeleton to the VRoids hand.

Locomotion Testing

Locomotion Jumping with Physics still needs work.

AI Mob Controller [01]

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The goal of this experiment was to learn what it takes to create an AI that operates within perspective of a XRPlayerControllers camera view.

First I wrote my own PID controller to control a Drones Rigidbody via physics to match a point in world space.

Adjusting the variables allowed to to appear more smooth and animated.

Different properties can lead to different behaviors.

Now we give it a gun. For learning.

Make sure it knows how to shoot. With even the recoil effecting the PID controller.

This can get pretty chaotic but, its good to know how many bodies I can simulate at a given time when you consider theres a PID controller for each Rigidbody.

Physics Based Procedural Animations [01]

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I love working on physics based animations.

I love procedural animations, most system use Inverse Kinematics to accomplish this, as do my systems. However I wanted to take it to the next level and allow dynamic blending between Inverse Kinematics and Physics Simulations.

This should allow my to play a Humanoid animation on the skeleton while still applying IK to the bones, and lerp between a "Live" and "Ragdoll" state for the characters physics body.

Its far from perfect and I still need to find a use case but, its still fun to look at.

VFX Graph Projectile [02]

Sat, 15 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

One of my goals was to make the projectile a grabbable with dynamic states, meaning it could be held and thrown like a grenade, or charged and shot like a plasma blast.

Avatars provided by the VRoid Hub.

This allowed me to test out some Combat simulations

VFX Practice [02]

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This was made using VFXGraph for Unity.

Physics Based Buttons [01]

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Contract to improve front-end buttons. NDA prevents me from showing the finished prototype.

XR Player Controller [02]

Mon, 10 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Devices tested:

Oculus CV1
Oculus Quest 1

Technologies used:

Vroid SDK (Avatars)
Oculus VR SDK
UnityXR SDK

This was my second attempt at a XR Player Controller. My main goal here was to make sure I can modularize components while solidifying most of the prototype code.

The Avatar was home made this time using a base Vroid from Vroid Studio and Decimating it in Blender for low poly testing.

I wrote the Grabbable components you see here, in order to make it work with physics.

Held hand poses still need some work.

Testing some facial blendshapes out.

Jumping still needs work.

HandTracking was a complete failure as different avatar rigs have skeleton bones that use a different axis orientation. So one can not simply match up rotations 1:1 unless all bones use the same orientation axis.

VFX Graph Projectile [01]

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I made this projectile using a home made VFX graph, and some C# elbow grease to make the projectile act like its part of a physics based charging system.

Shooting some boxes. Yes I am aware im shooting the projectile out of a scope.

The idea behind this kind of system is the modularity of the script I made allowing it to work with any VFXGraph setup with the right event and exposed properties.

Avatars provided by the VRoid Hub.

VFX Practice [01]

Mon, 13 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Some custom code to rotate simulated points and emit particles offset via some maths.

This was made using VFXGraph for Unity.

XR Player Controller [01]

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Devices tested:

Oculus CV1
Oculus Quest 1

Technologies used:

UMA2 (Avatars)
Oculus VR SDK

This was my first attempt at a XR Player Controller. Starting small my goal was to just get each limb lined up with basic controller based Hand Poses working.

Clothes Placements and RayPointers

My own Custom Grabbables and my try at 2 handed grabbing.

Writing my own Locomotion was great practice. More work needed to be done on the jumping.

Horror Style Mobs

Sun, 05 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Contract to add horror themed mobs to a VR experience. NDA prevents me from showing the finished prototype.

I used an asset pack and custom texture from a FilterForge plugin.