Misfit Dollz: Wonderverse Thesis Process & Progress

New Scans!

This week a focused primarily on the concepts and research that compliment this thesis project. Keeping in mind the notion that toys are “cultural signifiers” I went to Jackpot Deals and searched for toys that I could then 3D scan into 3D assets that would then be placed in my Unity environment. The toys I collected included, plastic army men, Hot Wheelz, little figurines, and other small toy accessories. I used both Polycam & Tripo to scan my objects and then converted these scans into fbx & obj files.

Starting Space + Asset Development

After scanning most of the objects collected at Jackpot Deals, I begun creating Boxes for the MisfitDolls themselves, since I already had an ‘AllexBear’ box as reference, I went into Artlist, prompted Nano Banana to replace the toy in the box with the toy in the second image reference and prompted it to customize colors that compliment the figure. I did this for both SonnyGearSolid & MechaBarbz, and am currently in the process of making boxes for MD Queer & StringRay (although this is a lesser concern)

Then using the shelf asset I made in an earlier draft, I began to design a space in which the participant or ‘player’ would begin their journey. I then added the new MisfitDollz Box assets to the shelves coordinating the box assets between each character design.

Designing the Main Space

Following the development of the starting space, I decided that the center plane or main space, would be where the ‘player’ could interact with the 3D toy assets, interact with the Misfit Dollz 3D models, and trigger an interaction between MechaBarbz (or another misfit doll) narration that would explain the space and the concepts behind its design. The player then has two areas that can be explored, to the left, a Media Gallery and to the right ‘StringRay’s Surf Mini Game’.

Media Gallery

The media gallery would function as a space where current and past Misfit Dollz media will be displayed. For example, I plan on embedding the already made MisfitDollz Commercial onto a 3D plane, as well as the past concept/poster art, and newly created animation/video art created using, Mixamo to animate the MisfitDoll models, Final cut for editing the video content, and Procreate to make captions or other graphics. I may design it to look similar to my showcase back in December, though I am still thinking about that portion of the layout.

StringRay Surf ‘Mini Game’

When you approach StringRay’s area it will trigger an interaction where the ‘player’ will be told that they need to collect missing doll parts (this would involve a simple script for collectibles) so that Stringray has a clean beach to surf on. I included this as an idea since it is a potential mini interaction and StringRay’s persona is based around surfing and the beach (the reason being because wearing swimsuits and beach attire is a huge anxiety-inducing for most people let alone queer or trans individuals who are experiencing body dysmorphia or dysphoria). As a sidenote: Each original Misfit Doll has an anecdote or design that informs that character’s backstory/development. If this isn’t an interactive game, it may simply be an extension of the environment, but I think adding mini games or small tasks may be a way of making this project more interactive.

Setbacks…Compromises?

While the layout of the environment was coming together, I encountered some errors upon creating this new draft:

1. Input-Manager Errors: The input settings to ‘look’ or rotate the camera kept on having issues, It would give me an error operation or not function at all. I am currently in the process of correcting this error by troubleshooting and changing the ‘Input manager’ component.
2. The Participant Scans: While I was able to add and render the scans in the older file, I wanted to improve how the scans are rendered, interacted with, and displayed. I came across some issues while recreating the older method on the new file, as a solution, I am considering either having the Participant scans render in a new scene (separately) or finding a plug-in or library for real-time rendering and PNG background removal.

Planning This Week:

This week I plan to do the following:

Technical

1. Solve the input manager settings so that I can rotate my camera or ‘look’ while in motion.
2. Finish the ‘paper doll’ templates on Procreate and time the process on creating and scanning vs. the drawing templates.
3. Experiment with different workflows for the Participant Scans including plug-ins or libraries.
4. Finish scanning all the toys/objects acquired for the environment and collectibles.
5. Put my animated Misfit Dolls into the new project file and add ‘navmeshes’.
6. Begin Designing the Media Gallery and choosing media to embed.

Conceptual

1. Continue to work on my thesis research.
2. Begin to design the interactive experiences ranging from more passive interactions to event triggers.
3. Create media content for the virtual gallery.