The rapidly emerging field of Cinematic Virtual Reality (CVR) lacked standardized design guidelines for user-centered interactive storytelling. For my PhD research at the HIT Lab NZ, I aimed to establish these effective design guidelines.
The Challenge
CVR sits at the intersection of film, game design, and spatial computing — yet none of these disciplines had developed guidelines specifically suited to immersive 360° narrative experiences. Designers lacked evidence-based principles for camera placement, narrative pacing, spatial audio, and viewer agency in VR storytelling contexts.
Design Process & Methodology
I designed, developed, and evaluated multiple immersive CVR experiences, conducting extensive qualitative and quantitative user studies. By utilizing the resulting data to drive design improvements and refine spatial UX paradigms, I iterated across several prototypes — measuring presence, narrative comprehension, and emotional engagement at each stage.
Outcome
I authored comprehensive, data-driven guidelines for CVR storytelling. This research contributed valuable insights to the academic community and significantly strengthened my expertise in human-centered research and immersive media design.