March 18, 2019
Congratulations to myself because I am officially a chef, cashier, and a mechanic … Well, I am at least in the world of Virtual Reality. The title “Job Simulator” describes the 6Dof (6 dimensional) game I played at Vivid VR perfectly. While I have only had one real job, this game fully encapsulates the idea of immersion. In the game, users can choose what type of job they want to experience and partake in activities specifically related to said job. For example, the first job I experienced was playing as a chef. I was tasked with cooking specific orders from computer customers.
The idea of immersion is key in VR because it allows users to feel as though they have been removed from their reality and placed into one that is entertaining for them. Without immersion, the effectiveness of creating an entertaining and successful game would be lost. Factors of immersion include all 5 senses: taste, touch, smell, audio, and sight. While aspects like smell and taste are not as common in VR, audio, sight, and touch are essential to the experience.
Job Simulator utilizes audio, sight, and touch to their full potential. When in the game the user is allowed to pick up food/cooking items and move them. They have the ability to hear vegetables being sliced or cups being dropped/shattered (oops). Finally, users have the opportunity to view a 360-degree angle of the room, which included a stove in the front, a fridge to the left, a cutting board in the back, and a counter to the right. Although the game “Job Simulator” has simple objectives for the enjoyment of playing a game, someone looking to review the effectiveness of a VR game like this would be pleased by designer’s attention to detail when it comes to factors of effective immersion.
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