Problem to solve
Animation is an integral part of storytelling and can make or break an experience. However, in an immersive environment, motion sickness is a very common negative side-effect of animation.
This can include a feeling of seasickness, headaches, general nausea, dizziness, vertigo or even in some cases, vomiting. This happens when there is a mismatch between what is being seen and what is being felt — or in other words, your eyes perceive that you’re moving, but your body doesn’t feel any motion.
How can we add animation to an experience without making people sick?
North and South’s solution
North and South is one of the creations – or “Quillistrations” – featured in the Quill Theater public showcase app.
This is a good example of how you can still use spinning animation in an environment while still reducing the risk of motion sickness. The water keeps you grounded while the ice sheets spin at a very slow rate. Only the ice sheets, the bear and the penguin are on moving while the water is stays calm and still, and the horizon is stable and steady.
You can see better what I’m talking about from this top-down perspective.
You can see the benefit of this in first person, that even though you’re actually the one moving on the spinning sheet of ice, since the penguin is spinning at the same rate in front of you, you’re still able to remain grounded.
Download it and try it
North and South is available in Quill Theater on the Oculus Quest.
