Spatial Synthesis – Reflection

Initially conceptualized as a VR game devlog, this project has shifted gears over time. Now, it’s focused on the broader potential of Extended Reality (XR) through Spatial Synthesis, a multiplatform design bible and community. This project is a mix of portfolio work, research, and design insights aimed at tech bros, design students, game developers, and anyone surfing the waves of change. Drawing from works like Hillmann’s “UX for XR” and the work of Don Carson, I’m diving deep into spatial design. This reflection chronicles the process of bringing this concept to life, the lessons imbibed, and the continuous evolution of the project.

In the inception phase, my primary focus was “Salaryman RESCUE!” – a VR game focused on guiding inebriated Japanese office workers through Tokyo’s streets. As producer, I contemplated pitching this as my main digital artifact, detailing the journey via devlog blog posts. However, shortly after, I sensed a broader horizon awaiting exploration beyond just the game.

After speaking with my tutor, I realised there was a significant gap in the market for the documentation of XR design practices. While the devlog had its niche appeal, offering more general insights into XR and spatial design had the potential to cater to a wider audience and provide lasting value, and serve as a valuable portfolio piece for my career.

Thus, Spatial Synthesis was born. Designed as a hub for spatial computing insights, it would not only collate valuable resources but also potentially pave the way for demonstrating practical XR design strategies. Initially it was just going to be a blog, but as I had to design a website for a UX class, I figured it might as well be for Spatial Synthesis. Thus, at this stage, the project encapsulates:

• A website and shop (stage: design)
• A webXR experience (stage: concept)
• A devlog (stage: live)
• A Discord community (stage: soon ™)
• More????

Who would benefit the most from Spatial Synthesis? Through conversations and observations, I defined a unique intersection: tech bros and design scholars – pretty niche stuff. I imagine this kind of content will have exponential returns on social value, though, as XR technology slips into societal ubiquitousness. But you know who else will benefit? ME. I want to be an expert on spatial design, and I’ve always learned by doing. I don’t really care if my audience is a tiny minority at this stage; my audience barely exists yet. They will come.

Exaptating Y2K Aesthetics for XR: Turning Nostalgia into Futuristic Innovation

Spatial Synthesis embodies both nostalgia and futurism. The challenge was finding the right design language that would resonate with the spatial depth of XR. Y2K’s gel-like bubble buttons and glossy finishes, best remembered in Apple’s Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah, caught my eye. Although not initially designed for XR, their shape and transparency were exaptated to function beautifully as 3D objects in this new context. By adding liquid shaders and physics, these buttons become much more complex interactables. The use of negative space – common in Y2K media – emphasized spatial depth, and Three.js allowed for the tactile representation of XYZ dimensions, all set against a backdrop of calm natural environments which serve to insert the tangible into the virtual – an exaptative echo.

An early experiment with ‘Aqua’ visuals in XR.

Though I documented this realisation in my pitch blog post, a core moment for the project was when it dawned on me that many of our everyday tools and technologies which weren’t designed for XR could easily be exaptated into novel digital experiences. Think about how a pistol can be used to select a menu option, or a saber used to slice musical beats. This methodology is core to good XR design philosophy. The repurposing of existing real-world tools and technologies into the XR environment not only provides the sense of effortless familiarity that UX designers are seeking, but also opens the door to unprecedented interactions and experiences.

Incorporating this insight, my next step is to continually scout for everyday objects and technologies that can be repurposed in XR. Whether it’s a menu-selection tool or a game mechanic, exaptating real-world elements into digital experiences is the future of intuitive and immersive XR design. Furthermore, Spatial Synthesis will serve as a repository for these insights, ensuring that as XR evolves, so does our understanding and utilisation of exaptation.

Imagineering XR

Shakespeare was a spatial designer.

Don Carson’s transition from Disney Imagineering to the world of VR is a prime example of the applicability of exaptation within XR design. His principles of environmental storytelling (among many other valuable posts), initially conceptualised for theme parks, offer profound insights that can be seamlessly integrated into the XR realm. It struck me that despite being a totally ground-breaking and novel medium, spatial media was not unique to XR by any means; Shakespeare was a spatial designer. Rather than XR being an evolution of flatscreen digital media, it’s much more accurate to say that XR is an evolution of theme park, exhibition and event design. The world of themed environments, as outlined by Don Carson, has provided a treasure trove of design principles ripe for exaptation into XR. The future of Spatial Synthesis will undoubtedly be shaped by these insights, ensuring that users are offered an immersive, engaging, and emotionally resonant experience.

FEFO… Or Not

Another realisation was that compared to my past digital artefacts, I had spent far more time on research and design for Spatial Synthesis. Previously, adhering to the principles of Fail Early, Fail Often, I had started making content much more rapidly, thus ensuring a tight and responsive feedback loop with my audience. This time, I’m being much more careful. And I’m ok with that.

What Next?

The journey of Spatial Synthesis has been one of constant evolution, reflection, and learning. My personal takeaways from this phase have been: exaptating existing technologies, the importance of Imagineering, and my intense focus on design. As I head into the next phase, my focus will be on expanding the Spatial Synthesis community and continually refining the design bible through exaptative analysis.

Spatial Synthesis: Pitch

I forgot to hit record before I drew the “logo” and then I liked it too much to do it from scratch 😵

If you know me, you know I’m interested in XR (rather than explain this term, which stands for “extended reality”, I’m simply going to tell you to look at the below chart). I think the medium is entirely unique, and once ubiquitous will forever alter the way in which humans socialise, work, learn and play. Unfortunately, right now there is a lot of really crappy XR software out there. Most developers seem to think they can just port flat display-based software to XR, making minimal changes, and create something novel in the process. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, there are surprisingly few genuinely brilliant XR apps on the market right now – and most of them share one thing in common: they were developed from the ground up for XR. XR insights and sensibilities were applied in their design. We need more of this.

See? This is much easier.
Source: Interaction Design Foundation

I’m going to back up here to provide a bit of context and iteration history. I’m a digital producer currently producing several XR titles at an indie start-up called Universal Weebs Unlimited. Originally I was planning on pitching one of these titles as a digital artefact, and providing production updates along the way as a form of reporting. After much discussion and debate with my friend GPT-4, this was narrowed down to a game dev log, which could be useful as both marketing for the project and also just as a way to foster a community and generate some engagement.

GPT-4 was very useful in getting to where I am now.

But after speaking with my tutor, I realised that what I was more interested in was the design process for XR experiences. What constitutes good design practice in spatial computing? There is very little documentation on this currently available and I think I’m in the perfect position as an XR professional and design student to investigate this idea. It also helps my career and fosters my own developing expertise in the spatial computing field.

Note to self: do not ask GPT-4 to pretend it is Steve Jobs.

There are three strategic development concepts that will prove useful throughout the life of Spatial Synthesis:

1. Reframing: at its core, reframing is about shifting our perspective to uncover fresh avenues of thought and creative solutions. In Spatial Synthesis, the process of deriving spatial design insights and formulating a methodology serves as a reframing exercise—transforming the traditionally intuitive design process into a structured, step-by-step documentation. To be honest I’m not sure how far I’m going to go with documentation – I might leave it at a collection of insights… we’ll see.
2. Adjacent Possible: a concept that speaks to the immediate next steps available from our current position. Think of it as a room that contains all the conceivable moves you can make from your current state. As we make a move and enter a new “room,” new doors (or possibilities) open up. Considering how new the XR industry is, the whole space is in a constant question of adjacent possibilities. I intend to explore these, and in doing so hopefully uncover some design insights.
3. Exaptation: in technology/design, this refers to the serendipitous repurposing of a feature or tool for a function it wasn’t originally intended for. For the purposes of Spatial Synthesis, I’ll be using the concept of ‘exaptation’ to repurpose real spatial environments, technologies, and practices into mediated virtual experiences. The pressure washer was designed as a tool to quickly clean grime off surfaces, not as a central mechanic in a video game – but if you scripted a virtual pressure washer suddenly the XR applications are endless. Exaptation, in XR design, is taking the real and finding new virtual uses for it.

It would have been easier to pick one of these and focus on it solely, but I found that each was too applicable to discard.

There exist already a sea of gamedev and game production blogs, vlogs and YouTube tutorials for flat games. I don’t care about these. When seeking out analogous artefacts that might be of use to Spatial Synthesis, I focused exclusively on XR, and I approached from a design angle rather than a development or production angle. For example, the work of Don Carson, a former Disney theme park designer turned VR environmental artist. Carson’s unique set of skills and experiences position him as an expert in spatial design, and his design blog is a treasure trove of spatial insights.