In 2022 I developed a wedding planning demo application for Vara, an events planning startup. Built in Unreal Engine 5, the app gives the user the ability to configure their dream wedding, in VR. Flower bouquets, table settings, chairs, seat number and more are all customisable in real time.
VR Wedding Planning Application
Final Showreel
The following video is one of the final showreels I produced for my client. It mainly showcases the scene’s physics, as many of the assets are grabbable. The biggest challenge of this project was optimising the scene such that it ran smoothly in VR, this was difficult due to the amount of foliage in the scene. I also made the introductory motion graphics in After Effects.
Wrist Mounted UI
I wrote Blueprints to detect when the VR headset are the left motion controller where angled toward eachother, this would trigger the UI to appear and maintain alignment with the user’s wrist position.
Customisation
Users will have the ability to use their own branding in the application. Company logos were added to the bespoke hand mesh textures and Niagara teleportation graphic.
Custom VR Hands
I wanted to create my own hand gestures so I rigged a hand asset I downloaded online, texture painted it then create custom poses in Blender.
Testing Prototype Hands
After setting up the hand poses in Blender, I wrote the Blueprints in Unreal such that motion controller buttons triggered corresponding poses.
Dining Table Blueprints
I had to create a Blueprint for the dining tables that would be able to change the number of chairs and table radius, as well as changer the meshes for the central flower bouquet, table settings and dining chair.
In this clip I’m writing a Blueprint to place chair meshes perpendicularly on the tangent of a generated spline. This spline was created using trigonometry functions within the construction script.
The code is dynamic - the radius of the table updates when the seat number variable is changed on the UI. This is better for user expereince as two parameters are linked to eachother.
Draft tests
When coding I start off simply, then add complexity gradually. This is a screen capture of a draft blueprint test.
Each cube represents one dining chair.
Client Testimonial
Katherine Lees, VARA, Founder:
“Jack has been a pleasure to work with from his innovative input and creative flare, his skills have executed my brief impeccably. Jack possesses the ultimate “can do” attitude and has taken on this project with such a positive energy that it shows through the design he has produced for me. During the project Jack has kept track of the details necessary to fulfil the requirements, helping me to track progress throughout.
I have been especially impressed with the finishing touches he has included outside of the brief to add the wow factor to the demo, for example the external backdrop visible through the windows within the model, the logo detail displayed on the floor to teleport around the model, and the hand gestures to interact with the menu to navigate the design options. These additions have elevated the design and have made the interactions with the demo seamless.
I am over the moon with the final assets and would highly recommend Jack for any visual and virtual design projects, he will be my first option to work with again on upcoming projects!”
Gallery
