Description
This experience was designed for users to be able to experience Frida Kahlo's in-house museum in Mexico City without worrying about expenses, travel, hospitality, etc. My group mates and I wanted to create an experience that was immersive, educational, fun, and creative. Throughout this museum, you will see many of Frida's artworks that she created throughout her lifetime. As you enter the room you will see an onboarding sign that will explain how you navigate through the room and what you will be learning about. This virtual experience is like no other. You can walk around and see paintings up close, listen to audio, and paint all while in this virtual space.
Museum Items
Paintings:
1. Frida Kahlo's Diego and I, 1949
2. My Grandparents, My Parents, and I, 1936
3. Self-Portrait on the Borderline
Between Mexico and the United States, 1932
4. Frida and Diego Rivera, 1931
Artifacts:
1. earrings
2. easel
3. canvas
Interactive Design
The interaction design in this game is achieved through the C# script in Unity. The first type of interaction used within the VR experience is trigger events that play audio explaining the art/artifacts within the space. The second interaction is a drawing interaction where users can press down on the hand control trigger to paint on a canvas. This interaction was created using the C# script. We incorporated these interactions because we wanted our users to feel like they were a part of the scene. We want the users to be invested in the experience by being able to paint within Frida Kahlo’s space. This way, they can listen to the stories of Frida Kahlo’s work and understand why they were created. These designs give individuals the opportunity to better their education and overall knowledge of art history.
User Experience
The user experience is designed to be informative, interactive, and exciting. We designed this room to allow users to learn more about Frida Kahlo and her artwork. She is a commendable artist from our history and her work is truly moving. Her artwork supports different concepts such as feminism, individualism, and Mexican culture. This Frida Kahlo virtual reality experience is set up so that many can easily navigate through the virtual vicinity and be inspired by her life and work.
Environment of the Game
The environmental design is based on Frida Kahlo’s studio space located in the Frida Kahlo House museum. the aesthetics of the environment are based on Mexican culture and the environment of Coyoacán, Mexico City. The color palette chosen for this experience includes vibrant shades of red, blue, yellow, and green mimicking the bold colors seen in classic Mexican textiles and pottery. For the outside of the space, we chose to make the house a vibrant blue tone to authentically represent the color of her home. In the interior, we incorporated multiple green and orange tones to create a more warm homey feel. The furniture and window frames are traditional wood to mimic her actual studio. The courtyard incorporates vivid hues of green through grass, plants, and cacti to create the feeling of being in her front yard.
Challenges
Some challenges that we had throughout this project were mostly with the interactive elements of the environment. We had trouble with the audio towards the beginning of the project because when we would move more than one sound into the scene it would tend to overlap with one another when we would put the headset on. We solved this problem by talking to other groups, talking to our professor, watching different videos online on how to solve this problem, and trial and error.
Future Implications
In the future, we could potentially add more artwork as well as more floors to our scene.
Reflection
Overall, this project was challenging but beneficial to me as a design student. I learned a lot of great new skills while doing this assignment. At the beginning of this course, I was unsure about my interest in VR but after completing my final assignment I realized that there is more to it than what I expected and I enjoy working in these creative spaces.
