Virtual Reality Worlds: Fast Track

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Abby's Brief: Jackie Robinson VR is a  virtual reality experience from the perspective of the world-famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson. Viewers observe Jackie Robinson's world in the 1940s and 1950s. Using VR, users step into Robinson's shoes and provides a deeper understanding of the hardship that existed in a segregated country. 

Jackie Robinson is extremely famous for his accomplishments, especially being one of the first African-American to play in the MLB. The purpose of the project is to shine a light on the struggle Jackie Robinson had to endure. It highlights his perseverance while dealing with racism on a professional and personal level. This VR was produced by modeling shapes and figures in Rhino, then assembling and adding texture in Unity. From Unity, users can access the game and step into Jackie's world.

Anara's Brief:

The Jackie Robinson VR is based on personal experiences of the first black baseball player in the MLB, Jackie Robinson. The VR is created with different interactive scenes where the viewer can encounter different events that happened in Robinson’s life. 

The first scene is a hallway that the viewer (Jackie Robinson) walks through. Inside, users walk past pictures of famous white baseball players like Babe Ruth and Cy Young. There are also bats and baseballs that can be touched and moved. When the viewer walks onto the field, people boo and throw bananas at him. The third scene is the viewer in the kitchen where they can read and interact with a newspaper. The three scenes were specifically designed to make the viewer understand the events that Jackie Robinson endured to achieve his goal of being the first black baseball player in the MLB.

Ollo's Brief:

Jackie Robinson VR is a virtual reality experience from the perspective of a world-famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson. Viewers observe Jackie Robinson's world in the 1940s and 1950s. Using VR, users step into Robinson's shoes and provides a deeper understanding of the hardship that existed in a segregated country. 

Jackie Robinson is a very powerful historical figure and also had a significant influence on civil rights. He endured discrimination and adversity, yet persevered and became the first African American baseball player in the all-white major leagues. Through the power of virtual reality, JR VR  shows the viewer the story of Jackie Robinson in his first year of the majors and portrays forms of racism he faced in his time playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. This simulation allows the user to travel back in time and walk through three scenes from Jackie Robinson's rookie year. In one scene, a tunnel is shown where Jackie Robinson walks down and notices on the wall photos of white players and creates the feeling of power with him being the first African American player. The second scene portrays Jackie Robinson on the field with the crowd jeering and booing him. The final scene portrays Jackie's house and shows him as a civil rights leader as well as a baseball player.

Steve's Brief:

Jackie Robinson VR is a virtual reality experience from the perspective of the world-famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson. Viewers observe Jackie Robinson's world in the 1940s and 1950s. Using VR,  users step into Robinson's shoes and provides a deeper understanding of the hardship that existed in a segregated country.

Jackie Robinson is a very powerful historical figure and also had a significant influence on civil rights. He endured discrimination and adversity, yet persevered and became the first African American baseball player in the all-white major leagues. Through the power of virtual reality, JR VR shows the viewer the story of Robinson in his first year of the majors and portrays forms of racism he faced in his time playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. This simulation allows the user to travel back in time and walk through three scenes from Jackie Robinson's rookie year. The first Scene visualizes Jackie walking out onto an MLB field for the first time, where you will be booed and have banana's thrown at you. Lastly, you will be at home reading about racism at the time, and the steps Jackie Robinson took in the right direction. 

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James Pickar Brief:

U-2 Spy Plane Incident: A simulation that allows the user to experience the emotion, stress, and decisions Cold War spy pilots endured. Having a user sit in the cockpit of a spy plane and asking them to make a life or death decision achieves this experience.


American spy pilots during the Cold War were required to keep all information about their job other than that they are in the Air Force secret. They sent years in training comparable to the training of the Apollo astronauts. If shot down, spy pilots were trained to either commit suicide or be captured by their opponents. Being captured, however, was seen as dishonorable. Our project invites a user to experience the same high stakes decision. They sit in the cockpit and are abruptly shot down. What will they decide? The project calls into question the social construct of nation-states and why we take drastic measures to protect them. All of this is done through a virtual reality simulation in which the user pilots a U2 Spyplane and must photograph Soviet airbases while also flying in a combat zone. The experience brings the emotions and ideas of the Cold War to a new audience.

Amiyr's Ahmad Brief:

The U-2 Incident is a simulation that allows the user to experience the stress and life or death decisions made by U-2 spy pilots during the Cold War era. 

 The user is asked to fly a surveillance mission on a U-2 spy plane. The user steps into the cockpit of a U2 plane. Then, they are directed to photograph Soviet airbases. The pilot must navigate this task in the middle of combat. If shot down, the user much chose to either commit suicide or be captured. If they chose to capture, the pilot is considered to be dishonorable.  The project calls into question the decisions that must be made to protect the country. The project aims to educate the general public about the sacrifice of those serving in the military.