Coralline

Three questions for the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
A key strength of mixed reality lies in its ability to simulate and visualize the invisible. The aim was to create an immersive VR experience that effectively conveys the complex impacts of climate change on coral reefs. The particular challenge of the Coralline project from a UX perspective was to design an intuitive experience without menus and textual content. Instead, the focus was on creating an engaging and educational journey using audiovisual elements. This required innovative approaches to knowledge transfer to ensure that the educational content is engaging and accessible to a diverse user group, including teenagers, students, tourists, and teachers, as users are guided through the coral islands of the past, present, and future.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
My first highlight was connecting the prototype to the VR headset and experiencing my own scenery in an immersive way, even though it was still in the early stages of development. Seeing the world I had envisioned come to life was incredibly exciting. The 'aha!' moment came during the testing of the first fully functional version of the immersive VR experience when users reacted overwhelmingly positively. However, the low point was the tight timeframe for the semester project. From concept to prototype, time management was crucial, and there were challenges in implementing VR in Unreal Engine, which was new to me. Despite these obstacles, it was a rewarding journey.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
I see myself advancing my skills in VR, Unreal Engine, motion design, and interaction design, building on them for my bachelor's thesis. Before embarking on my thesis, I aim to intern at a company specializing in these areas. During my internship, I could further develop the project, enhancing its interactive features. I am committed to continuing my focus on climate change, as it deeply interests me, and I want to contribute to society in this regard. Coralline shows great potential, and I hope to continue working on the project, ideally seeing it implemented in schools and museums.