Client Meetings

This project was a contracted collaboration with Boston Medical Center, where they enlisted our team to develop a training simulator for their students. Before beginning production and design, we held several meetings with the hospital to understand their specific needs and expectations for the simulation. Based on these discussions, the design team and I crafted a comprehensive design document to present to Boston Medical Center for feedback and approval.

Design Meetings

Following the client meetings, the design team would gather to brainstorm ideas based on the feedback and requirements shared by the client. These discussions typically lasted between 30 minutes to an hour and were usually scheduled immediately after the client meetings.

Main Gameplay Loop

The client provided clear guidance for the main gameplay loop. Initially, players begin in a classroom-like environment, where up to 20 students are gathered alongside an instructor. At the start of each cycle, the instructor selects 3 students to participate in a simulation, with the remaining students observing as passive onlookers. During the simulation, the instructor adopts the role of a concerned parent, interacting with the selected students as if they were in a doctor's office. This experience is designed to assess the players’ skills in a realistic scenario.

Once the simulation concludes, all students reconvene in a separate meeting room for a brief discussion with the instructor, who provides feedback and grades the students based on their performance. After receiving their grades, the students return to the main classroom, where a new simulation may begin with a fresh group of participants.

Throughout the project, I collaborated closely with the lead designer on various aspects of the main gameplay. However, I took the lead in designing and implementing the emote wheel for the project. The primary purpose of the emote wheel is to allow the instructor to express their reactions, helping students understand the emotions and thoughts of the parent/instructor during the simulation.

In designing the emote wheel, I conducted research by exploring how other games, like Fortnite, utilize emote wheels. I compiled my findings into a simple design document, which I then presented to the development team. After sharing the document, I addressed any questions and incorporated feedback, refining the design until it met both the client’s vision and the usability needs of the instructor/parent.

The final emote wheel allowed the instructor to convey emotions while grading students. If the instructor selected a particular emotion repeatedly, the avatar would reflect that by becoming either more distressed or happier, depending on the emotion chosen. The emote wheel was integrated with the Oculus controller, where the joystick was used to select the desired emotion.

During this project, I was responsible for overseeing Quality Assurance and testing to ensure the game ran smoothly on the Oculus Quest 2. I organized and led large test sessions, working with Immersive Health Group's QA teams, where we hosted up to 20 testers to evaluate the game’s performance and identify any limitations. Additionally, I managed the testing process for all Jira board tickets, marking them as completed if they passed, or moving them back to "to-do" if they failed. I also handled bug reports from both the client and team members, creating tickets and tracking their resolution.

During development, we encountered a critical bug that caused the game to lag and crash for all users. To address this issue, I initiated daily QA meetings to pinpoint the source of the problem. I led these meetings, carefully recreating the bug's occurrence to assist the development team in identifying and fixing the issue.

This project was an invaluable learning experience for me, marking my first time working with a large team in a professional setting. Although my contract with Immersive Health Group ended before the project’s completion, I’m proud to know that some of the ideas and features I contributed were part of a finished product delivered to the client. I’m grateful to have worked alongside such a talented development team, from whom I learned a great deal. My key takeaway from this experience is the importance of clear design documentation—ensuring that developers have precise instructions is crucial to avoid any miscommunication and ensure the final product matches my vision.

In conclusion, my time at Immersive Health Group was a tremendous learning opportunity. It confirmed my passion for creating simulation games that educate and engage players.