Context:

For my final year in my Game Development course, I was tasked with writing a research paper as my dissertation. The paper I wrote was titled:

Assessing the Effects of Comfort Settings within VR Stealth Games

This page serves as an archival of the prototype, however this is a slighty edited version from the original prototype with added adaptive music. 

It is unlikely that I will update this game in the future.

For anyone curious, my dissertation received a final mark of 92/100!!!

What is this game about?

You are tasked to steal items and traverse an office enviorment.

To escape successfully, you must collect:

• 4 key items.
• At least $2500 worth of loot.

Once you have everything, you must escape back to the start of the level.

Along the way you'll need to stay hidden, avoid making too much noise, and use objects within the environment to distract guards.

You cannot defend yourself.

So make sure you have an escape route when things go wrong.

Content:

This prototype contains:

• 1 office level.
• 1 tutorial.

It is highly recommended you play the tutorial first, it explains all of the game mechanics, controls and as well as allowing you to experiment with the enemy AI.

To interact with the UI at the start of the game, press the right trigger of your controller while aiming towards the buttons.

VR Compatibility

The game should work with most PC VR headsets, although it was only tested using a Meta Quest 2.

If you're using SteamVR, simply add the executable as a Non-Steam Game through Steam (bottom-left corner of the Steam window) before launching it through steam.

I would like to add that this game is designed with traditional VR controllers. I am unware if there are issues with other controller types (including playing with your hands only.)

Known Issues

As this is a university research prototype, the game is not bug free.

The most common issue occurs when using the teleport locomotion, particularly if you teleport directly against walls. Avoid doing so whenever possible.

I would like to also put to light that if your hand gets stuck in the enviorment simply pull your controller far away enough for your hand to teleport back. I originally omitted this from the tutorial, however when your hand is stuck behind geometry a blue ghost hand will appear representing where your controller is, this is a visual aid it will dissappear once your ingame hand teleports back as this game has physics based hands.

Recommended Comfort Settings

Interestingly, during my research, teleport locomotion was the least popular option among participants.

Out of the four comfort configurations that were tested, the highest-rated combination was:

• Smooth Movement
• Snap Turning
• Vignette

If you're unsure which settings to choose, I'd recommend giving this combination a try. 

I hope you have fun with the game, it was developed in the span of 4 months while balancing university assignments, an apprenticeship, and writing my dissertation.

Credits:

This is a solo dev game. All programming, game design and music were created by me.

However I'd like to thank the following:

• Beyer Creative for providing the guard voice acting. 
• VNB Productions for the office assets.
• PULSAR BYTES for the crate models.
• PERFECT GAMES for the money model.