Working within Extended Reality Confines

Environmental design within VR requires consideration into how the player can move, both physically and virtually. In the case of this example bowling scene, originally the camera was fixed in the regular game. For VR, barriers needed to be added to prevent the player from walking away from the interactable scene, and also from seeing into the void. UI elements such as the scoreboard also had to be added into world space, placed on an overhead monitor rather than being a static HUD element.

Although the player is limited in movement to their respective lane, lighting cues still brighten this lane in particular to subconsciously tell players this is their lane, and they can bowl on it. Other gameplay elements such as the ball return had to be made functional. Originally, a new ball spawned ready to be thrown. In VR, new balls come from the ball return to the player's right. Despite being a simple, albeit limited, project, the incorporation of the aforementioned diegetic elements (Scoring UI, Ball Return) still highlights how small details become more important in VR. Players in extended reality settings, especially in virtual reality, will subconsciously make connections to familiar sights and actions they would expect in the real world. Accommodating these expectations isn't to make a game "realistic" but to allow players to become easily acquainted with game mechanics they may expect to behave a certain way.