Narrative and Extended Reality

Our projects this week focus on how we can integrate narrative design in an extended reality (XR) environment—a generalized term that combines virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). I had several ideas on how I could combine XR into the realm of workplace learning and development, but I found the learning curve for developing AR/VR content to be steeper than anticipated. My final product is a more simplified version of some of my original ideas that still reflect my learning goal and objectives.

Learning Goal: Welcome new NYU employees to the community

Learning Objectives:

  • New employees will be able to determine what their experience working for NYU might be like.
  • New employees will be able to recall where they can find additional information on benefits, policies, and discount resources.
  • New employees will be able to summarize facts about NYU.

Design Concept

My initial brainstorming for this project resulting in some very interesting, but lofty concepts. Some highlights of that initial brainstorming session include:

  • A location-based AR experience where proximity to key NYU locations and services triggered an interactive element to appear that would share key information with new employees. New employees would also gain points depending on how much and how frequently they interacted with elements; these points could potentially be used to redeem NYU swag. This concept was inspired by AR games like Pokémon Go and Harry Potter Wizards Unite.
  • A VR experience that recreated key locations at NYU (e.g., the Bobst Library, 370 Jay Street, the Kimmel Center, and global locations). It would be set up like a scavenger hunt where new employees would need to navigate through different scenes (NYU locations) to find answers to questions presented on their start screen.
  • A VR experience set up like a virtual conference or showcase where new employees could join virtual rooms to learn more about benefits, discounts, and employee resources. This design would allow for multiple new employees to participate simultaneously and use in-world conversation abilities.

Having been an avid Pokémon Go and Wizard Unite player, I had a personal goal for this project to create something using AR despite having no experience. Adobe has a beta version of the mobile Aero software for desktop that I downloaded and started exploring before quickly realizing I was out of my depths. I did still try to make my first idea work by scrapping the location-based aspect of it, but still wasn’t able to get a product I liked.

New employee welcome draft in Adobe Aero
Modified draft of my initial AR concept using Adobe Aero.

Bobcat wearing NYU sunglassesI ultimately went with a simplified version of the second idea that integrated pre-existing content, specifically the NYU Pop Quiz series hosted by Sapna Parikh from NYU News and monthly AMC Did you know? facts managed by the AMC Communications Committee I co-chair.

For the other images and graphics I used in the final product, I relied on the NYU-themed Zoom backgrounds shared with employees after transitioning to remote work as well as Bobcat stickers from the NYU-moji app.

Creating a VR Experience

It was important that I be able to focus on the content rather than the technology so I used Wonda VR to develop my new employee welcome VR experience since I was able to use the platform without having extensive knowledge of working in VR. Wonda VR was also a good choice for a platform because I don’t have access to a 360° camera or related digital assets.

My preference would’ve been to have new employees physically in those spaces or more robust 3D models to create a more authentic, embodied learning experience. So instead I created virtual spaces that were named after key locations in NYU’s Washington Square campus and used photography of those same spaces as well. For example, the Bobst Library space features photos of the library’s iconic stairwells taken by Peter Aaron / ESTO and the Kimmel Center space includes photos of the inside stairwell decorated for fall welcome week as well as the attached Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

Explore the New Employee Welcome

Screenshots