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XR · GAME · PRODUCT DESIGN
Designing an XR Board Game
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ROLE
XR Designer
DURATION
1 Week
SKILLS
Unity
UI for XR
3D Modelling
Spatial Interaction Design
Gem Collect is an XR-based game prototype exploring spatial interaction, feedback-driven mechanics, and risk–reward design. The project investigates how simple controls and environmental placement can create an engaging, intuitive experience in mixed-reality spaces.
How to Play?
The experience begins with board placement. Rather than fixing the game to a single location, the Move Board interaction allows players to position the game surface anywhere in their physical space. This design choice reinforces user agency and encourages exploration of how virtual objects can coexist with real-world surfaces.
Once you start, use the on-screen arrow buttons to move the ball. Your goal? Collect all five rotating gems. Each time you grab one, you’ll hear a sound and your score will go up.
A Game of Risks and Rewards
To introduce challenge and tension, the game incorporates boundary constraints. Contact with black boundary walls or falling off the board triggers a Try Again state, creating meaningful consequences for navigation errors.
Bonus!
In contrast, the +2 bonus card introduces a reward mechanic: collecting it spawns an additional gem and increases the score by two. This moment is designed to shift player strategy, encouraging risk-taking and reinforcing a sense of momentum toward completion.
Winning the Game
Successfully collecting all five gems without triggering a failure state results in a You Win message, after which the player can choose to restart or return later.
But, how did we get here?
Spatial Placement & AR Interaction
The game and all interactive components were modeled and developed in Unity, which served as the primary environment for prototyping, testing, and iteration. Early in the process, the game was built and tested within a simulated AR environment rather than directly in physical space. This allowed for faster iteration, easier debugging, and tighter control over interaction logic before introducing real-world variables.
Core components, including the game board, boundary walls, gems, bonus cards, and UI elements, were modeled as modular objects. This made it easier to test individual mechanics, such as collision behavior and scoring, without affecting the entire system.
Testing the game in a simulated AR environment
Using Aruco Markers
Aruco markers were used to establish stable reference points for placing and aligning the game board in AR space. These markers enabled consistent detection, orientation, and scaling of the virtual board relative to the physical environment. By anchoring the experience to markers, the game maintained spatial accuracy and reduced drift, creating a more reliable and repeatable interaction during testing.
Printed image tracking was added to the game using Aruco markers to introduce a reward mechanism in the game.
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