Float

Asymmetrical therapeutic experience for chronic pain sufferers.

Timeline: 2020/05 – 2021/04
Client: Penumbra Inc

Studio: Stitch Heads
Role: C++ Programmer & UX Designer

Platform: Proprietary VR (running Android)
Engine: Unreal Engine 4

Intro

We developed this game for the REAL Immersive System: a dedicated fully immersive Virtual Reality platform for healthcare and rehabilitation. It is fully controlled with motion sensors worn on the body. We designed and developed Float as a stress-relief game experience for people experiencing chronic pain accompanied by anxiety, which resulted in a friendly and safe environment of positivity, meditation techniques and activities using only upperbody sensors as input.

 

I was one of the two programmers on the core development team. Art was primarily externally developed by the talented Edgeflow Studio, and design was collaborative. We integrated our production pipelines and together succeeded intermittent milestones up to final gold delivery, utilised by therapists in sessions with their patients.

My Responsibilities

  • Research and design on the domain of chronic pain suffering and anxiety, with appropriate methods of stress relief.
  • Ideated the original Tai Chi gifting concept.
  • Executed Proprietary SDK integration and enhancements, relaying technical recommendations and best practices guidelines to the external party.
  • Co-designed and developed activities (minigames) incorporating various external properties customisable at runtime by the therapist on a separate tablet device, to modify the experience of the patient at any given moment (Warmup, Tai Chi, Petting, Breathing, Meditation, Throw & Catch, Gifting)
  • Implemented additional diegetic UI/UX through gaze and motions.
  • Developed basic gameplay AI behaviors, including responding to the patient, entering/leaving houses, exchanging dialogue, etc.
  • Profiling and optimisation, using UE4 tools and RenderDoc, for hardware comparable with Vive Focus 835 HMD in OpenGL ES3.1.
  • Platform CERT-list compilation and necessary implementations. Performed dry runs for each milestone to successfully pass the hardware CERT process.
  • Owned milestone deliveries and involved in client engagement. Performed live digital showcase presenting Gold Master delivery to client and various development studios.