Starship Home
Haptics Design and QA Testing
Haptics for Gooey Space Plants
I wanted to highlight the incredible interactions that the team had worked hard to create when designing the haptics. With Starship Home being a mixed reality game, the game’s objects and plants that the player collects are already grounded in their space, the last piece to getting it all to tie together is the haptics. Every haptics interaction was designed with the intention of bridging the gap between the virtual object/plant and the physical player. The player should believe that this is what it would feel like to open an airlock or to pot a space plant.
“All of these interactions were made better by the close attention the team paid to controller haptics. Few games do it this well, and it's wonderful to feel the difference between a gentle vibration while petting plants and a more solid one when pulling open the storage container, for example.”
-Android Central
QA Testing and Planning
One of the struggles of testing for a mixed reality game like Starship Home is that every players space is different. Varying room sizes, shapes, and available floor space were all taken into consideration when developing the test plan. This often meant changing the room I would test the game in and frequently placing the ship components in different locations to ensure the experience was consistent with different configurations. This testing resulted in a greater understanding of each and every object the player would be placing in their space and influenced how we would convey to the player where they might want to place objects.
Description
Traverse the galaxy in a starship bound for discovery! Prepare your living room for lift off as you depart on a cozy interplanetary expedition to collect, nurture, and befriend plants from around the galaxy. Immerse yourself in the mystery of an interstellar crisis from the comfort of your own home.