When I Am Gone was inspired by the Oculus Launch Pad Bootcamp weekend. And, while it features gameplay elements new to VR, at its core, the game is about something more. Over the past few years, I’ve encountered a lot of division that I think comes from a lack of practiced empathy. I hear things like, “Well, that’s not my experience, so I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

My goal with this project is to change this mindset. And, hopefully… find a way to “game-ify” empathy.

Whether it’s turn-of-the-century Japan, or modern-day America… as you progress through the game, you’ll be required to encounter things that are outside your own lived experience.

I wanted this mechanic to feel immersive. So, instead of just pressing a button, or teleporting into a collider, we created an interactive system called “The Memory Injector”. As you explore the mysteries of this futuristic Museum, you’ll enter memories by picking up the Injector, and inserting it into a bio-mechanical interface on your opposite hand.

When inserted, each injector takes the player inside a different memory. And, to exit the memory, all the player has to do is pull it out again!

The first iteration of this used a needle-like object being dropped into an XR socket on the opposite hand. But, in playtesting, this proved problematic. During the first 1:1 feedback session I had with Oculus, it was (wisely) pointed out that people tend to not let go of needles as they are considered potentially dangerous objects. And, neither of my first playtesters from Oculus successfully entered a memory. Since the XR socket required the needle to be "released" I knew a fix was needed.

The first step was to make the interface and injector more interesting objects. I knew that in order to draw the player's attention to this (crucial) system, it would need to be compelling to look at. Thankfully, our lead artist and modeler, Clark, was able to design something fascinating and practical.

Instead of relying on the XR socket interactor, I put a small sphere collider at the end of the telescoping interface tube. When the tip of the injector needle collides, a check is done to measure the angle of the needle. If the angle is within a specified threshold, the injector object "locks" into place with a small animation, sound, and haptic and the player is launched into the memory.

Moving forward, I'd like to create some kind of physics interaction so the injector needle doesn't just pass through the interface tube. It might be a bit expensive for the Q2, so we'll see how much it ends up affecting framerate.