This week, part of our team was away at GDC (Game Developers Conference) in San Francisco, where we had the chance to demo. The public demo was exciting and fruitful, and the rest of the team was able to make progress even without our plush.
GDC Demo
At GDC, Jerry and Sophie showcased our project at the CMU ETC booth. Our half-sheet flyers were the first to be completely taken among all ETC projects that day. Despite explaining the setup for calibrating the Apple Vision Pro could take 10 minutes, we still had six participants complete the full experience within two hours. Interest remained consistently high, with some attendees even waiting in line to try it.
During testing, we observed that most participants initially struggled to locate and trigger the animation sensors. Three eventually succeeded with guidance, while three others only activated the tail-end sensor, likely because it was more externally placed.
Feedback on character design was overwhelmingly positive, with most finding Luceal cute, though we acknowledge the GDC environment of positivity may have influenced these reactions.
Moreover, four separate attendees suggested we submit the project for next year’s GDC Alt.Ctrl showcase, in line with Jerry’s design idea of the physical pet as a “weird controller” for the virtual pet.
Meanwhile, back at the ETC…
Brian achieved a significant breakthrough by creating functional soft pressure sensors, using materials and methods from Olivia Robinson of IDeATe (who first showed us these in week 5). Working closely with Joy, they’ve successfully soldered and sewn these sensors. Their collaboration also produced working hands for the plush featuring pom-pom sensors that respond to squeeze inputs. Of course, as our plush Luceal was at GDC this week, these updates will have to wait for her return to be fully implemented.
These new soft pressure sensors solve multiple problems identified during our GDC playtest. Their customizable size addresses the sensor discovery issues we observed, while their durable construction offers a robust alternative to the fragile premade sensors we previously used. This advancement significantly improves both the user experience and the product’s longevity.
We’ll see you again next week when everyone is back and we prepare for the ETC’s own Playtest Day on Saturday, March 29.
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