So far when considering what tools and skills I currently have at my disposal, these are some of the ideas that I think would would be an interesting challenge for a thesis project. While one of these feels a little more comfortable and in my wheel house the other two would require me to expand my learning into some areas of tech that I have not had any prior experience.
Idea 1:
Being that I have my sights set on working either in game design or animation, My first idea would revolve around a series in depth character and object animations that could either be used for a game or for other 3D projects. Things like a variety of different animations for actions people carry out every day, or the mechanical inner workings of an object. This Idea still feels very broad to me and I think a deeper look is required for this one so it is something that I will be thinking about further and would appreciate any input on how to refine this Idea to help it truly feel unique.
Idea 2:
My second Idea would have me learn about augmented reality, which is something I’ve always been interested in but never explored. my idea for this would be similar to that of the Lego “Hidden Sides” line of sets. I would like to combine AR with a real Lego environment to help build the immersion and imagination past just the physical set. My initial Idea for how I would do this to build a Castle and use AR to have knights running by or arrows raining from the sky to make it look like its under siege and to help build the immersion with the Lego further.
Idea 3:
this Idea would use my 3D modeling knowledge in addition to learning some VR to help build a digital environment. My Idea for this would be to build a Virtual U-Lab that people can hang out in and interact in through the computer. This idea stemmed from a conversation on one of the discord servers about how to create a place that could capture the essence of the U-lab since we no longer had access to it and could not see our peers there due to the pandemic.
Hey Pat,
Here are my thoughts on your ideas. Considering the first, your character animations will likely be something you’d want to work on anyway as part of a demo reel for employers. This is also something I’ll have to make in the next year, and I’ve found a lot of really great tutorial videos on how to make a demo reel on YouTube, so I’d point you there for some guidance. As mentioned to with your Lego idea, check out that Unity Lego Microgame project template. I went back into Unity 2019.4.10f1 (no idea why they name versions this way) and found the project template there, so you might very well be able to incorporate it with XR functionality.
https://blogs.unity3d.com/2020/09/09/create-your-first-game-brick-by-virtual-brick-with-the-lego-microgame/
Just looking at this article briefly, it seems like there’s some really cool features in this template, so hope it’ll help you in your thesis decision!
-Greg
Since you are interested in game design and learning VR, why not create a VR game. Maybe you could make an escape room type game where you have to solve puzzles in a VR environment. This combines your idea 1 and 3, where a group of people have to work together and communicate in a VR environment.
I also like your AR Lego idea. With your castle set, you could make a RTS game where you have to fend off an invading army. Maybe you could play against someone who also has the set. Could you scan a minifigure and have them come to life in AR?