Draft: Will-o-Wisp Proto-Avatar

The Context

We need a captivating and engaging starting experience for new users in V-Sekai. This experience should introduce core mechanics in a fun way and hint at the possibilities of avatar creation and interaction.

The Problem Statement

New users need an engaging onboarding experience that seamlessly introduces them to V-Sekai’s social VR environment and avatar customization.

Describe how your proposal will work with code, pseudo-code, mock-ups, or diagrams

Phase 1: Will-o-Wisp Enhancement

New users will join the wider community as a will-o-wisp. This provides an immediate sense of community and introduces basic movement controls in a 3D space.

  • Interactive Elements: Introduce a will-o-wisp body that reacts to user inputs such as movement, voice audio, and animation gestures. For example:
    • The will-o-wisp could change color or emit light patterns based on the user’s face visemes, voice pitch and volume.
    • Perform specific animations in response to gestures.
  • Voice Chat: Enable voice chat to facilitate communication and interaction among new users (code implementation with audio integration).

Phase 2: Avatar Emergence

The will-o-wisp experience gradually transitions towards avatar customization and personalization.

  • Proto-Avatar Customization: Introduce basic shape variations for the will-o-wisps (code implementation with visual mock-ups).
  • Chrysalis Chamber: Create a dedicated space where users can experiment with proto-avatar customizations and preview future avatar options (level design and UI/UX design).

The Benefits

  • Engaging Onboarding: Provides a fun and unique first experience.
  • Community Building: The shared will-o-wisp experience fosters a sense of belonging and encourages interaction.
  • Gradual Introduction: Eases users into the concepts of avatar customization and the larger V-Sekai world.
  • Increased Retention: A captivating initial experience can improve user retention.

The Downsides

  • Development Time: Implementing the proposed features will require dedicated development resources.
  • Technical Challenges: Creating a seamless and performant will-o-wisp experience may present technical hurdles.
  • User Expectations: Managing user expectations about the transition from will-o-wisps to full avatars is important.

The Road Not Taken

We considered directly starting users with avatar creation, but this could be overwhelming. The will-o-wisp experience provides a gentler introduction to the 3D environment and social aspects of V-Sekai.

The Infrequent Use Case

Users who prefer to immediately jump into avatar creation could be provided with an option to skip the will-o-wisp experience.

Why is it in Core and done by us?

Onboarding is a crucial aspect of the V-Sekai experience. The core development team is best suited to implement this feature to ensure it aligns with the overall vision and technical architecture.

Status

Status: Draft

Decision Makers

  • V-Sekai development team
  • fire
  • Transplanar-Ecological-Society

Tags

  • V-Sekai
  • Onboarding
  • Avatar

Further Reading

  1. V-Sekai · GitHub - Official GitHub account for the V-Sekai development community focusing on social VR functionality for the Godot Engine.
  2. V-Sekai/v-sekai-game is the GitHub page for the V-Sekai open-source project, which brings social VR/VRSNS/metaverse components to the Godot Engine.

AI assistant Aria assisted with this article.