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Aisling Kelly-Brophy 

BSc [Hons] Creative Computing

Hi, I’m Aisling Kelly-Brophy. I am passionate about game design and development, front-end development, and virtual reality. Having completed a QQI Level 5 in Game Design & Development in Blackrock Further Education Institute in 2017, I especially enjoy designing and creating games in Unity and C#. Currently, I am learning React, Python, and Blender, as well as developing my own projects to further my Unity and C# skills. As a woman in technology, I am also passionate about diversity and equality efforts, and I hope to see many more women in gaming in future.

Full playthrough of "AbyssScape", the game developed as part of my final year thesis on virtual reality and immersive gaming. The game was developed in Unity 2020, programmed using C#, and made use of Unity's XR Interaction Toolkit. When finished, the game was ported to the Oculus Quest 2 headset.
Wireframing of UI interface, as well as a mockup of how the game would appear to the player.
Rudimentary design/layout of the rooms contained in the game. Some features, such as the layout of items, changed slightly during development; others, such as the wolf guarding the door, were retained.
Basic storyboard of the first room. It shows the view first observed by the player when the game starts, how they can escape their cell, and then how they can progress to the next part of the dungeon. The idea of corridors connecting each significant part of the dungeon was scrapped during development - each room was instead connected by a doorway.
Basic storyboard of the second room, showing how the player can get past the wolf on guard. This process was simplified in the final application - instead of befriending and playing with the wolf, the player would be required to lure it away from the door with a food item.
Main menu, showing the Play, Options, Help and Quit buttons.
When the player presses the Options button, this screen appears. Here the player can configure the snap-turn functionality of the Quest 2 controllers, and turn the background music on or off.
The player's view when the game starts - behind bars (with bonus cat).
This room contains a puzzle of some kind. The stand before the brazier contains a component called an XR Socket Interactor. This enables the user to place required items precisely into each notch - if correct, the item will "snap" to the correct location.
One of the puzzles implemented in the game was a series of riddles to be answered by the player. If the player was to answer one correctly, they would proceed to the next; if answered incorrectly, they would have to answer again.
The game contained several items that could be picked up for use by the player. Each interactable object contained an XR Interactable component. See how many food items you can spot here.
Perhaps the food wasn't for the player.
Project Description

AbyssScape is a virtual reality, dark fantasy escape game, in which the player must overcome obstacles to find their way out of a foreboding dungeon. It was developed for the Oculus Quest 2 headset in Unity 2020, coded in C# using Visual Studio Code, and utilised Unity's XR Interaction Toolkit. The menu theme and ending theme were also composed within Magix MusicMaker, a program which enables the user to arrange premade music loops to compose soundtracks for film, games etc. AbyssScape also aimed to examine the principles of immersion in gaming, utilising elements such as colour, lighting, and sound design to create the right atmosphere.


Main Menu Theme MP3 Ending Theme MP3 Final Thesis PDF

AbyssScape – Immersive VR Dungeon Escape

As humans, we have always had a fascination with games, and with immersive experiences. A good game, book, film, or TV show will work hard to immerse its audience, through a combination of design elements such as character, world building, sound, lighting, emotion... Such experiences have only been enhanced by virtual reality technologies in the last few years. In virtual reality, the player is not so much a passive observer of a game, but a "visitor" to the world of the game itself.
I drew on this research to create my own VR game, utilising elements such as colour, lighting, sound design, and level design to create what can be perceived as an immersive gaming experience. First, I researched existing VR puzzle games, examined their features, and surveyed a broad cross-section of gamers about the most important aspects of both VR and non-VR games. Developing on this research, the game was then designed, levels were laid out, and the main activities of the game were described in storyboard form. Then, once a build of the game was complete, it was tested with players both familiar and unfamiliar with VR games. Feedback on the game's design and functionality was received as a result of this testing, with suggested changes noted for future reference.


Main Menu Theme MP3 Ending Theme MP3 Final Thesis PDF
Creative Computing
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