VR Performance of US Soldier Experiences
(2014 - 2017) - Lead Programmer
Unity, C#, Blender, Virtual Reality (CAVE2), Android, iOS, Audacity, Virtual Reality (HMD), Oculus Rift, Multi-disciplinary team
Overview
A virtual reality art experience telling the story of American soldiers who fought in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in the 2000s who witnesses and were involved in act of torture against detainees. A collaborative project with an artist, director, and writer from multiple universities. Designed as a performance piece for the CAVE2™ Hybrid Reality Environment and later ported to VR HMDs and mobile (Android/iOS).
Contribution Summary
- Worked with artist Daria Tsoupikova to integrate and optimize the 3D models used to create the virual environments of Hearts and Minds.
- Created custom scripts to fade between environments as needed by Director Roderick Coover.
- Converted the 4K resolution CAVE2 project to run on a laptop and Oculus Rift for SIGGRAPH Asia and Android mobile versions.
Awards
- Electronic Literature Organization Award for a Work of Electronic Literature, 2016
- Selected as one of four works at ISEA 2016 Hong Kong Cultural Revolution
- Official Selection, Bergen International Film Festival
Publications
- Coover, R., Rettberg, S., Tsoupikova, D. and Nishimoto, A., 2021. Addressing Torture in Iraq through Critical Digital Media. Electronic Literature as Digital Humanities: Contexts, Forms, and Practices, p.323.
- Tsoupikova, D., Rettberg, S., Coover, R. and Nishimoto, A. 2016. The Battle for Hearts and Minds: Interrogation and Torture in the Age of War: An Adaptation for Oculus Rift. SIGGRAPH ASIA 2016 VR Showcase (New York, NY, USA, 2016), 5:1–5:2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2996376.2996383
- Nishimoto, A., Tsoupikova, D., Rettberg, S. and Coover, R. 2016. From CAVE2TM to Mobile: Adaptation of Hearts and Minds Virtual Reality Project Interaction. Human-Computer Interaction. Interaction Platforms and Techniques. M. Kurosu, ed. Springer International Publishing. 400–411. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39516-6_38
- Tsoupikova, D., Rettberg, S., Coover, R., Nishimoto, A., The Battle for Hearts and Minds: Interrogation and Torture in the Age of War. 2015. ACM SIGGRAPH 2015 Posters on - SIGGRAPH ’15 (Los Angeles, California, 2015).
- Coover, R., Rettberg, S., Tsoupikova, D. and Nishimoto, A. Hearts and Minds: The Interrogations Project. In Proceedings of the IEEE VIS Arts Program (VISAP), Paris, France, November 2014.