Game Design Students Excel in Creating Virtual Reality Game for Liminal VR

Students at LaSalle College Vancouver are no stranger to creating video games. One of the key opportunities in our Game Design programs is the ability to work in partnership with Liminal VR. Students get a real-world experience creating a game for the Liminal platform. Also, getting feedback and mentorship every step of the way from Damian Moratti, CEO of Liminal VR.

Our students were up to the challenge and five can now say that they have a published game, all before graduating from their program – Calvin Baker, Nachiket Dabhade, Geordie Green, Sebastien Pesa, and Jamie Zedan Villeda were the strong team participating in the project. The students created a virtual reality experience in the AWE category, with the goal of evoking an intangible emotion, called Luminescense. In fact, it is so well received it is currently listed in the top 3 of experiences on the platform.

Students in the Critical Game Design class got to choose the type of experience they wanted to develop for, and then began the scoping of their team project in collaboration with Liminal VR. The designers had to digest the cognitive & behavioral trends provided by the research team, a key step when designing for Virtual Reality, so they could understand the basics of what they needed to achieve to induce that specific emotional cognitive state.

The Partnership Program between Liminal and Post-Secondary schools is very important to both the school and Liminal. Damian Moratti, CEO of Liminal VR, said it allows the class to create a microcosm of a game design company. It allows students to create something that is consumer facing and to see all aspects of the production process from start to finish and post-development analytics. When the students were asked about the main takeaways from the project, Calvin Baker stated, "We need to rely and trust each other as a team. It was a great growth experience.” Due to COVID students did the entire project remotely, which really mirrors what is happening in the industry during this time.

LaSalle College Vancouver's partnership with Liminal VR started in 2018, and since then our students in the Critical Game Design class, under the leadership of faculty member Charles Cue, continue to work in collaboration with the Australian team every six months. This unique experience adds value to our students as they get to work with a real client and see their projects come to life, while getting a taste of the exciting Virtual Reality world of endless possibilities.

About Liminal VR:
Based in Melbourne, Australia, Liminal VR is a multi-award winning digital studio delivering emotionally moving augmented, mixed and virtual reality experiences. Liminal has a world class creative and development team and dedicated research team of neuroscientists and psychologists, allowing the company to push the boundaries of what’s possible with immersive technologies. At the center of the organization is their Liminal Platform; a collaboration between Liminal VR and their partners, which include some of the best game design schools, universities and developers around the globe. Currently the platform offers 4 categories of experiences to offer the public – Calm, Energy, Awe & Pain Relief.