Project Description
With recent advancements in XR, game technology, and virtual worlds, there is now the possibility of creating more immersive and active gaming ideas in the so-called Metaverse. Movella is highly interested in these advancements since their motion capture technology appears to be a suitable fit for immersive virtual worlds that need complete body monitoring. As a result, Movella would want to challenge students to create a prototype of an immersive full body motion tracking game.
The team designed and built a technical prototype which combines motion capture, VR and the Metaverse. The prototype must be used to attract attention and gauge interest of potential users. The technical prototype shows the accuracy of the Xsens suit by using pose recognition and collision systems. The game can be played both on screen and in VR. The Metaverse aspect is implemented through the use of Twitch.
Promotional Video
Team
Project Management
Game Designer
Producer
Anca Bancila
Viktoria Prodanova
Network Programming
Gameplay Programming
Bram Reuling
Ana-Maria Ilea
Pepijn Wasser
Character Artist
VFX Artist
Victoria Beliska
Ivan Ivanov
Technical Artist
Environmental Artist
Partner
Music & SFX
Johan Wittmers
Attila Pöthe
Personal Contribution
Overview
MVN Live Link Connection with Xsens Suit
Pose Recognition System
VR Integration
Houdini and Niagara VFX Integration
MVN Live Link Connection
Final Deliverable
The Xsens suit was integrated in Unreal Engine 5 with the use of the MVN Live Link Plugin. The plugin made the retargeting of any custom characters an easy process. The biggest challenge was to move the actor itself. MVN Animate Pro moves the Skeletal Mesh of the actor rather than the actor itself. This proved a problem for programming movement and determining accurate position. This challenge was overcome by fixing the MVN offset issue and updating the camera position with the head socket position.
Read more about the MVN Offset issue
Pose Recognition system
Final Deliverable
The pose recognition system is a plugin made in Unreal Engine 5. The full plugin includes the ability to record and detect single poses, sequences of single poses and dynamic gestures.
Read more about the Pose Recognition Plugin
This project uses the sequence pose recognition system. There are three sequences which can influence gameplay: an attack sequence and two defense sequences.
VR Integration
Final Deliverable
The game can be played on the screen and in VR. The gameplay is the same for both modes. The biggest challenge was to align the camera with the head location. This challenge was overcome by fixing the MVN offset issue and updating the camera position with the head socket position.
Read more about the MVN Offset issue
Houdini and Niagara VFX Integration
Final Deliverable
The game included the use of visual effects. The visual effects were made with Houdini and the Niagara system. While the Niagara system is integrated in Unreal Engine, the visual effects done in Houdini needed a separate implementation. These VFX were implemented through flip-books and materials or geometry caches.
