Immersive Visual Effects
ZHOU YUTONG / 0378676
week1---week14
Immersive Visual Effects/ Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
TABLE OF CONTENT
- INSTRUCTIONS
- LECTURE
- EXERCISE
- PROJECT
- REFLECTION
LECTURE
Week 1: Module Briefing
This module focuses on creating spatial and immersive experiences by combining visual design, interaction and VR workflows. It defines visual effects (VFX), explains how VFX shapes feelings and responses in VR, and introduces core tools including Blender, Godot and VR headsets, as well as coursework and the full weekly syllabus.
Week 2: Immersion, Presence & Design Directions
- Core concepts: Immersion means deep mental engagement in an experience. Presence refers to the feeling of being situated inside a virtual environment, divided into spatial presence, social presence and self-presence.
- Design guidelines: Build consistent visual styles, reduce distractions and guide users’ attention to enhance immersion and presence while minimizing discomfort.
Week 3: Narrative in VR Environments
- VR adopts environmental narrative instead of traditional linear storytelling. Stories are spread across 3D spaces for users to discover on their own.
- Three design steps: Define the intended experience and narrative outcomes; design spatial progression to match emotional arcs; guide users’ attention via visuals, sound, light and object hierarchy.
Week 4: Human Perception & Spatial Experience in VR
- Human perception integrates vision, hearing, haptics, vestibular sense and proprioception. VR designers construct artificial sensory experiences for users.
- Common perceptual issues in VR: vergence-accommodation conflict, limited field of view, distance compression and sensory mismatches. These problems may cause cybersickness and break the sense of presence.
Week 5: Tracking, Spatial Input & Interaction
- VR operation loop: Physical action → Tracking → Spatial input → Virtual interaction → Sensory feedback.
- Three key components: Tracking captures users’ 6DoF position and movement; Spatial input converts motions into 3D data with different coordinate frames; Interaction includes four core tasks: selection, manipulation, locomotion and system control.
- Design principle: Prioritize human-centered, natural and responsive interaction.
Week 6: VR Workflow, Project Planning & Previsualisation
- VR development is iterative, skipping tests will lead to design failures.
- Standard workflow: Planning → Block-out with basic shapes → Headset testing → Revision → Add interactions → Re-test → Performance optimisation → Final build.
- Use simple prototypes for low-cost previsualisation and identify problems at an early stage.
Week 8: Asset Preparation, Scene Layout & Spatial Design in VR
- Asset rules: Follow unified scale (1 unit = 1 metre in Godot/Unity; 1 unit = 1 cm in Unreal). Check asset scale on import to avoid errors in collision and interaction. Mark interactive features clearly for users.
- Scene layout: Build basic structures (floors, walls, paths) first, then divide kinetic zones for specific interactions like grabbing, pressing buttons and object snapping.
- Spatial design: Place key content at ergonomic eye level. Embed UI into the virtual scene instead of fixing it to users’ view. Ensure the whole environment is realistic, comfortable and interactive to maintain presence.
PROJECT
PROJECT 1
We need to choose a doll and create a model of it in PLY format.This is my toy, Stitch.
The scanned model is put into playcanvas
PROJECT 2
The code I used in the special effects
week 9
I participated in a school-based psychological activity led by an instructor. The aim was to help us better learn how to express emotions in our work. I think this is very beneficial for developing our empathy and emotional expression, making our immersive projects more emotional.
week 10
PROJECT 3
WEEK 14
For this scene, I chose a billiard hall with a Western fantasy setting. For the special effects, I created books that can float and vases that can be interacted with. Pressing the side button in the VR headset will cause the vase to be enveloped by black cubes, and pressing it again will remove them.
I also added a magic book with floating animations.
Use squeze for interaction
https://launch.playcanvas.com/2552676?debug=trueREFLECTION
1. Lecture Knowledge & Theoretical Learning Outcomes
Across 14 weeks of lectures, I built a complete theoretical foundation for immersive, VR and spatial VFX design, which reshaped my understanding of visual storytelling from traditional flat screen media to three-dimensional interactive virtual environments.
From Week 1’s module briefing, I clarified the core positioning of this subject: immersive design unifies visual aesthetics, real-time interaction and end-to-end VR production pipelines, with Blender, Godot and PlayCanvas as core development tools. Week 2 introduced two foundational concepts—immersion and presence. I learned that immersion refers to deep mental engagement with virtual content, while presence splits into spatial, social and self-presence; consistent visual language, minimal distractions and guided sightlines are essential to strengthen these feelings and reduce VR discomfort like cybersickness.
Week 3’s spatial narrative lesson changed my linear storytelling mindset. Unlike traditional film, VR relies on environmental storytelling: narrative clues are scattered throughout 3D space for users to explore freely. I mastered three design steps: confirming target emotional experience, matching spatial layout to emotional arcs, and directing user attention via lighting, sound and object hierarchy.
Week 4 covered human multi-sensory perception in VR, including vision, hearing and vestibular sensation. I identified common perceptual flaws such as vergence-accommodation conflict and distance compression, which directly break presence and trigger motion sickness. This taught me to prioritise human sensory comfort as a non-negotiable design standard, not just visual beauty.
Week 5 broke down the full VR interaction loop: physical movement → tracking capture → spatial input → virtual feedback. I learned the four core interactive tasks (selection, manipulation, locomotion, system control) and the human-centred design rule that all virtual interactions must feel natural and responsive to users’ real body movements.
Week 6 outlined the iterative VR development workflow: planning, primitive block-out, headset testing, iteration, interaction development, performance optimisation and final build. The emphasis on early low-fidelity previsualisation left a deep impression—skipping prototype testing inevitably creates unresolvable design and performance problems later.
Week 8 focused on asset and spatial layout standards. I memorised unified unit scale rules for different engines, learned to divide scenes into functional interactive zones, and understood that UI should be embedded within the virtual space instead of locked to the user’s viewport to avoid disrupting immersion.
Supplementary workshops in Week 9 and Week 10 supplemented my theoretical learning. The emotional expression psychology activity in Week 9 trained my empathy; I realised immersive works rely on emotional resonance to connect with users, not just technical VFX. Week 10’s VR headset training allowed me to experience my digital scenes from a first-person user perspective, which helped me spot blind spots in spatial layout and interaction logic I could not see on a flat screen.
2. Practical Project Practice & Technical Iteration
The three sequential projects built a progressive technical skill chain, covering 3D photogrammetry scanning, real-time VFX scripting, asset scene assembly and interactive VR development, with PlayCanvas as my primary web-based development platform.
Project 1: 3D Scanned PLY Toy Model
This task required scanning my personal toy Stitch and exporting it as a PLY mesh file. I encountered my first major technical barrier: I could not complete the teacher’s recommended coding workflow for mesh processing. To resolve this block, I adopted alternative third-party scanning software to capture the toy’s geometry and add Gaussian splat visual properties, before importing the final processed mesh into PlayCanvas.
This experience taught me flexible problem-solving: when prescribed coding methods fail, cross-tool pipelines are viable workarounds to meet assignment requirements, though I also recognised my gap in foundational mesh scripting knowledge that I need to fill later.
Project 2: Custom VFX Scripts on 3D Models
Building on the scanned Stitch asset, I developed two distinct custom visual effects and wrote supporting PlayCanvas scripts to drive them. This project deepened my understanding of real-time particle and shader logic, and let me practise linking code parameters to mesh materials to control visual behaviour dynamically.
Project 3: Original Fantasy Scene Construction
I downloaded public assets from Supersplat to build an original Cthulhu dark fantasy scene, hosted on PlayCanvas. I designed layered atmospheric VFX: floating animated eyeball props, explosive particle bursts for small sculptures, and real-time colour shifting + spray particle effects for the central giant sculpture. Creating this scene let me apply Week 3’s spatial narrative theory—scattering eerie interactive VFX across the 3D environment to build a unified mysterious mood without rigid linear storytelling.
Final Week 14 Western Fantasy Billiard Hall VR Scene
For the summative scene, I designed a western fantasy billiard hall optimised for VR headset viewing. I implemented two core interactive VFX systems: permanently floating animated books, and responsive interactive vases. Using VR controller input logic learned in Week 5, I coded a toggle function: pressing the headset side button wraps the vase in animated black cube particles, and a second press clears the effect. Testing this scene with VR glasses in Week 10 allowed me to adjust object placement to ergonomic eye level, following Week 8’s spatial design rules to guarantee comfortable, intuitive user interaction.
3. Self-Reflection on Strengths & Key Limitations
Strengths
1. Flexible technical problem-solving: When stuck on taught coding workflows for 3D scanning, I independently researched alternative scanning tools to complete the PLY asset output without abandoning the project.
2. Consistent application of lecture theory: Every scene and VFX design references module principles, such as spatial narrative layout, ergonomic object placement, and presence-boosting atmospheric particles.
3. Emotional-driven design awareness: The Week 9 psychology workshop influenced my scene creation; I prioritised atmosphere and user emotional experience over purely technical showcase of effects.
4. Iterative testing mindset: I repeatedly tested my scenes in VR headsets to adjust interaction distance, particle density and object scale to avoid cybersickness and maintain immersion.
Core Weaknesses & Root Causes
1. Insufficient foundational coding ability: I failed to follow the teacher’s native mesh processing code workflow in Project 1, relying entirely on external software to compensate for scripting gaps, which limited my full control over mesh parameters.
2. Uneven balance of VFX density: In my Cthulhu scene, I initially added excessive overlapping particle effects that distracted users and weakened spatial presence, violating the lecture rule that visuals must guide attention rather than overwhelm it.
3. Late-stage VR testing habit: For my first two small projects, I only previewed assets on desktop viewports instead of early headset testing, which led to post-production adjustments to fix scale and interaction distance issues.
4. Limited variation in interactive logic: My final billiard hall scene only implements simple button-triggered toggle effects; I have not explored more complex continuous motion or multi-stage interaction sequences.
4. Improvement Plans for Future Immersive Design Work
1. Fill coding knowledge gaps: I will self-study PlayCanvas mesh and particle scripting tutorials to master native model processing workflows, reducing reliance on external third-party software for 3D asset creation.
2. Adopt early prototype VR testing: For all future projects, I will block out primitive scenes and test them in VR headsets at the pre-production stage to avoid large-scale rework on asset scale and layout.
3. Refine restrained VFX design: Establish a clear mood-first rule for particle and shader effects; remove redundant visual layers that distract from the core narrative atmosphere to protect user presence.
4. Expand interactive system diversity: Practise developing multi-step, continuous VR interactions such as object grabbing, dragging and gradual visual state transitions beyond simple on/off button triggers.
5. Strengthen sensory balance: Integrate spatial audio alongside visual VFX in all scenes to build multi-sensory immersion, following Week 4’s multi-perception design theory.
5. Overall Module Takeaway
This 14-week module completely shifted my creative approach from passive visual production to user-centred immersive spatial design. I now understand that immersive VFX is not merely decorative graphic effects, but a comprehensive system combining spatial layout, human sensory comfort, interactive logic and emotional storytelling.
The iterative development workflow taught me that previsualisation and user testing are the most critical stages of VR creation, as they eliminate costly technical and narrative flaws before final asset refinement. Moving forward, I will carry the core principle of balancing technical craft with human sensory experience into all my creative media projects, prioritising intuitive, emotionally resonant virtual environments over superficial visual spectacle.
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