Summary:
The learning curve between the Unity interface and VAIF interface was too high causing users, even expert Unity users, to struggle. I established a cohesive interface between Unity and VAIF by minimizing the distinction between interfaces to the user. Pictures below ⤵
The learning curve between the Unity interface and VAIF interface was too high causing users, even expert Unity users, to struggle. I established a cohesive interface between Unity and VAIF by minimizing the distinction between interfaces to the user. Pictures below ⤵
What is VAIF?
The Virtual Agent Interaction Framework (VAIF) is a Unity Game engine package that allows users to create Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) with minimal effort. An ECA is a virtual character who is able to mimic human-like characteristics, ranging from speech to gestures. VAIF removes the cumbersome task involving 3D modeling, animation, programming, and the integration of complex interaction features such as pairing lip-syncing to an audio file or recognizing users’ speech.
The Problem and the Solution
Working within Unity created a special problem where we were limited to Unity’s capabilities when designing this game package. This created a challenge where we needed to minimize the learning curve of users learning Unity’s interface integrated with the VAIF interface.
The solution I found was working with Unity as closely as possible by using all the features to its advantage, specifically, by keeping the user experience as similar to Unity as possible. This resulted in improved user performance in the following ways:
1. Inexperienced users slowly introduced to Unity features learned to use Unity keywords
2. Experienced users recognized Unity keywords greatly reducing completion time of tasks
1. Inexperienced users slowly introduced to Unity features learned to use Unity keywords
2. Experienced users recognized Unity keywords greatly reducing completion time of tasks
VAIF Gallery
Below is a sample of the Unity Interface integrated with VAIF, a page from the quick help guide, and a page of tasks from the usability study.
Unity Interface with VAIF Extension
Page from Quick Help Guide
