Game Design, Accessibility, VR & AI
The Inclusive VR Card Deck
Empowering accessibility in virtual reality through a gamified design experience.
Project Type
Thesis project
Project Duration
15 weeks
Software Stack
Figma & Adobe Creative Suite
My Roles
Project Manager, UX Researcher and Designer
Deliverables
✅ A comprehensive suite of 24 meticulously meticulously designed card interfaces, each dedicated to a key principle of accessible VR design.
✅ A dynamic and accessible digital website dedicated to the educational exploration of the card game.
Design Impacts
🔹Finalist of the 2024 NYU school-wide Capstone Competition.
🔹Executed an in-depth research initiative, employing a multidisciplinary approach across various research methodologies to gather insights from over 50 participants.
🔹Spearheaded the development and execution of three rounds of user testing, including a strategic A/B test and two subsequent product iterations.
Intro to The Inclusive VR Card Deck
01 Background
As someone who experiences motion sickness in virtual reality, I began to wonder if others with similar challenges or disabilities face the same barriers - and how, as designers, we can improve this experience. Motivated by this personal struggle, my thesis explored the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) to address accessibility across various fields like education, healthcare, and gaming. To understand these challenges, I came up with three research goals and questions.
02 Research Questions
Identifying and Addressing Diverse Accessibility Challenges
Understanding the multifaceted accessibility issues that VR tools present across different domains such as education, healthcare, and the workplace, and how these challenges can vary significantly in their nature and impact on users with different needs.
Evaluating the Role of AI in Enhancing VR Accessibility
Analyzing how AI technologies, especially those in predictive, perceptual, and generative areas, can be effectively integrated into VR applications to overcome accessibility barriers, while also considering the potential risks or limitations these integrations may pose.
Developing Strategies for Stakeholder Collaboration
Crafting and implementing strategies to improve the understanding of AI's role in VR accessibility among all stakeholders, including developers, educators, healthcare professionals, and users, to foster a collaborative approach in the design and development of accessible VR tools.
03 Methodology
Literature Review (secondary)
In-depth analysis of current literature on VR accessibility challenges, AI integration in VR, and AI limitations.
Semi-structured Interviews
(qualitative)
Two focused 45 to 60-minute Zoom interview session with experts in VR and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) to gather in-depth insights in accessibility challenges in VR and their views of the integration of AI in VR.
Self-report Surveys
(quantitative & qualitative)
An online survey conducted through Google Forms to explore the public’s opinions on the integration of AI in VR applications, particularly in education, focusing on its usage, benefits, challenges, and their overall VR experience.
04 Research Findings
🔹Most users were unaware of AI features in VR environments, 37.5% reported usability issues, and participants expressed concerns about data privacy and reliability despite their generally positive attitude toward AI's potential to improve accessibility.
Survey results from 32 partcipants recruited through SurveySwap and social media
🔹Accessibility challenges in VR include limited adaptive options, content overload, high equipment costs, and motion sickness, while AI shows promise in improving content generation, development speed, spatial scanning, and personalization; however, concerns about data accuracy, privacy, explainability, and bias remain.
Qualitative data analysis from interviews using affirmative maps
I think it's really important to have this type of controllability and agency consideration. We don't really want to just let AI do all this stuff for us, rather, we want AI to take some part of the job for us so we can focus on the more meaningful stuff...
- Anonymous Expert
05 Design Ideation
Based on my research findings, I realized that accessible design can be integrated into various stages of the VR development pipeline. This insight inspired me to create the Inclusive VR Card Deck, a tool designed to spark conversations and educate developers about prioritizing accessibility from the beginning. Through a simple card game, developers can explore potential solutions to accessibility challenges.
By transforming my research questions into an interactive card game and a digital platform, serving as a "Wikipedia" for the card deck, I aimed to encourage developers to leverage AI-driven solutions to make VR more inclusive.
05.1 Game System
Card Sorting System
Game Flow / User Flow
(click to magnify)
(click to magnify)
05.2 User Journey Mapping
05.3 Personas
05.4 Features Prioritization
05.5 Prototyping & User Testing
05.6 Product Iterations
(hover to see users' feedback on the before & after verisons of the card deck)
✅ Enhanced Visual Design (Cards): The visual design of the cards saw a significant enhancement, with a 44% increase in the mean score, reflecting a more aesthetically pleasing and effective layout.
✅ Improved Game's Structure: The game's structure imrpoved with a 17% increase in the mean score, suggesting a clearer and more coherent framework for players.
✅ Learning Outcome: There was a 10% improvement in the learning outcomes, indicating that the game is now more effective at conveying educational content.
07 User Testimonials
Anonymous Player A
I like the capability to understand / learn new knowledge about AI, especially for people without knowledge about AR /VR/ AI contents. The ability to merge / combine multiple AI feature is interesting.
Anonymous Player B
(I like) the creativity of the pitches and how you need to really think hard and outside the box.
Anonymous Player C
(I like) the competition between players.
Reflection
As the UX and game designer of the Inclusive VR Card Deck, I've strived to blend AI with VR in ways that underscore their potential to enhance accessibility. The game transcends its educational purpose, offering a tangible interface with the combined power of these technologies. My role was to distill complex concepts into the game’s simple yet profound mechanics, with each card challenging and engaging players on issues of accessibility.
The feedback-driven design iterations have not only honed the gameplay but also underscored our shared duty in crafting accessible digital realms. It's rewarding to see the game catalyze important dialogues on inclusivity in technology.
Next Steps
🔹Expand Content and Scenarios: Introduce new cards and scenarios that reflect the latest developments in AI and VR, ensuring the deck remains current and informative.
🔹Community and Expert Outreach: Engage with a broader community of educators, designers, and technologists to gain diverse insights that can be used to enhance the game.
