In April 2017 while thinking of best test case environments for our world creation platform, I thought of a sports lounge looking out over live 360 views of games as not only an ideal test case but a potentially great standalone product.

I created the initial design, worked out UX principles for the UI, and considered the layout and flow of the space for proper space, usage, and ergonomics — invoking game level design principles.

At the center of the experience is the idea of showing a live 360 feed of different sports venues through the windows, making it seem like the virtual Sports Lounge blends seamlessly into the stadium as if it is a VIP room in the real stadium.

I then created the first iteration of the 3D world as shown in this image, and explored some UX for a universal menu (below).

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I set the team to working out some finer details with compartmentalizing space usage within the bar. We defined more of the experience parameters around the lounge as seen here.

credit: Joseph Knight, Sr. UX Designer, UX Team

Then we looked at augmentations for the live stream that VR fans would see such as first down markers, a virtual jumbo tron with the live televised broadcast, and other features.

credit: Arshin Nefasati, Graphic Designer, UX Team

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We developed a quick prototype exploration in Unity for switching between views in the stadium and returning to the sports lounge view and conducted some initial UX explorations for billiards as the first available minigame

credit: Tanuj Palghamol, Techincal Artist, UX Team

Currently we are updating the look and feel of the demo as seen below and moving toward a full featured product.

credit: original layout mine. interior reskin Timothy Samuels, 3D Artist and Art Director, Content Team