Session 

Virtual Reality and Immersive Design

Build an Exciting Digital World

Dive into the exciting world of Virtual Reality and Immersive Design! Through hands-on workshops, students learn the fundamentals of creating engaging VR experiences, from understanding 3D environments to designing interactive elements that bring stories to life. Students explore immersive tools and technologies, develop basic visual scripting and design skills and gain insights into how Virtual Reality is transforming fields like gaming, education and healthcare.

Over the course of the program, students collaborate in small teams to conceptualize and build their own VR projects. They experiment with headsets, motion controllers and software platforms to bring their ideas to (virtual) reality, while also learning about storytelling, spatial audio and user experience design. At end of the program, participants present their creations in a showcase event, gaining valuable feedback and celebrating their achievements. No prior experience is needed—just a passion for creativity and innovation!

Curriculum

This hands-on experience introduces the fundamentals of Virtual Reality technology, 3D environments and interactive storytelling. Participants develop essential skills in design thinking, spatial visualization and basic coding (visual Scripting), while also learning about the applications of VR across industries like entertainment, education and healthcare. By the end of the program, students understand how to conceptualize, design, and prototype immersive experiences, gaining both technical knowledge and creative confidence.

Working with Virtual Reality tools and technologies, including headsets, motion controllers and 3D modeling software students design virtual spaces, create interactive objects and experiment with storytelling techniques to engage users in immersive narratives. Highlights include crafting a short VR experience, learning the basics of Unreal Engine and presentation of their final projects in a showcase event to peers, instructors and family.

On the VR belt
Planned Topics

Students explore:

  • The core principles of immersive design;
  • Virtual Reality technology, including headsets, motion controllers, trackers and locomotive systems;
  • Visual scripting for interactive environments;
  • Creation of 3d environments for VR;
  • Immersive storytelling techniques;
  • Industry applications and uses of VR.
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Joshua Salyers
Faculty Lead
Joshua Salyers

Assistant Professor of Narrative Design (Games and Interactive Media)

Ph.D., University of Arizona, 2017
M.A., East Tennessee State University, 2011
B.A., East Tennessee State University, 2009

Joshua Salyers is an assistant Professor of Narrative Design in Game Development and Immersive Design in the Department of Art, Media Performance and Design at the University of the Pacific. He specializes in historical reconstruction and simulation for video games and serious game design for social impact. He came to the University of the Pacific as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration by the Department of History and the School of Engineering and Computer Science. This interdisciplinary student-driven initiative to create public humanities projects using game and immersive technologies has resulted in students creating games, pedagogical programs, and museum exhibits that explore the history of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta area.

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