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José Francisco Mireles Macario (he/him)

Entertainment Technology Center

Master of Entertainment Technology

Hometown: monterrey, mexico

1. You recently participated in the Scholar to Scholar: Graduate Project Showcase. Can you tell us about the work you presented?

   My focus for almost two years now has been to develop different location-based experiences for the Cavern platform at the ETC. The Cavern is a 270° stereoscopic projection screen with surround sound, designed for local multiplayer VR games. It is also equipped with different controllers, sensors, and cameras that enable interactivity. To simplify what the Cavern is: imagine entering a room where the walls display a 3D virtual world you can interact with. It is virtual reality without a headset.

    

   During my time here, we have developed an interactive sci-fi film (Anamnesis), a massive multiplayer racing game (Cavern GP), and a two-player romance experience (Mérida). Each project had its own unique design challenge to it. Our general goal while developing Cavern experiences is to push the envelope of what local VR can achieve. For Anamnesis, we developed a body tracking interaction method that seamlessly integrates with interactive films, removing the need to awkwardly pause and break the immersion. In Cavern GP, we created a gameplay loop that supports crowds of players to cheer for self-driving virtual cars, recreating the experience of attending a racing event. Currently we are working on Mérida, where we are developing a rendering technique that allows for two players to see their own correct 3D perspective using the same screen.

2. How did you develop an interest in this area? What inspired this project?

   Because of my background in film, I was initially interested in the Cavern because of the aspect ratio. We pitched Anamnesis because I wanted to film a short film in an extremely wide format. While screening the film, we realized a challenge that most VR platforms do not have: The player has no avatar, so onboarding can be difficult or confusing. Some consider it a design problem. To me, that means that players are not playing a character, they are playing as themselves, and they bring their own experiences and personality to the Cavern. I found that challenge so interesting that it inspired the next two projects, Cavern GP and Mérida. For example, in Mérida, we are making players flirt with each other using in-game virtual objects. Most of the time, the interaction between them is a little awkward at the beginning. By the end of the experience they are more comfortable with each other. Thanks to not having avatars, we can see a genuine progression in the players' relationship.

3. What are your academic and/or professional goals? 

   My goal is always to create an emergent keepsake that players can take from my work. A signed card by another player, a toy built by themselves, a selfie or a screenshot they took while playing. Something more than a memory of the experience, an artifact that is proof that they were part of the experience. I am also dedicated to education. I am inspired by my teachers and mentors to encourage people to believe in themselves and what they can achieve. In rare cases, I achieve both goals at the same time.

4. How do you spend your time beyond academic work?

   I have a lot of hobbies, but all of them are related to photography because I take my camera almost everywhere I go. I like taking photos of the food I cook, the mountains I’ve hiked, and the friends I’ve made. For concerts and sporting events, being able to enter the venue with my camera is a deciding factor when buying tickets. When playing video games, I constantly pause to take in-game photos.