Meta:
Cryptic Cabinet for Quest Headsets

Overview

Client
Meta

Technology
Mixed Reality

Platform
Meta Quest 2, Quest Pro, and Quest 3 headsets

Industry
Mixed Reality

Introduction

Meta invited us to help demonstrate the possibilities of mixed reality (MR) on Meta Quest. We worked with them to create Cryptic Cabinet, an open source mixed reality showcase built in Unity that shows developers how they can turn any room into a unique gameplay experience.

The brief

The objective was to show developers the capabilities of Meta Quest and Presence Platform to inspire them with what’s possible with the latest features in a way that developers could experience in the app, and see firsthand in GitHub.

The solution

We created a mixed reality “escape room” called Cryptic Cabinet to showcase how new SDK features – including Scene API, Shared Spatial Anchors, Colocation, Passthrough, and Passthrough Color Mapping – can be leveraged to create an immersive MR experience that is tailored to each player’s room.

The Passthrough feature allows headset users to step out of the virtual reality (VR) view and see a real-time visualisation of physical surroundings. The Scene Understanding feature enables the procedural placement of assets around the play space. Meanwhile, Colocation allows users to play the same experience together in the same physical space, made possible through Spatial Anchors.

We also built a procedural spawning system from the ground up that allows virtual objects to be seamlessly integrated with the physical room. Moreover, we created bespoke interactions for hands and controllers, leveraging Meta's Interaction SDK.

In the experience, users embark on a quest to restore a lost cabinet to its rightful era. Spanning Ancient Greek, Renaissance, and Tesla periods, the experience is rich in historical artifacts. Players must cleverly employ these items, solve intricate puzzles, and harness long-forgotten research to fulfill the mission.

A great mixed reality experience relies on objects being placed optimally in the space. Cryptic Cabinet adapts each experience to the user’s playspace, the position of the puzzles changes based on the location of the walls, floor, ceiling, and furniture in their space for a truly bespoke experience.

Dynamic gameplay is powered by Interaction SDK and users can play locally with friends with multiplayer co-presence. There is full support for both hand tracking and controllers.

Cryptic Cabinet is an open source showcase project for Meta Quest developers. Source code and assets can be found on GitHub.

The impact

XR developers can now create virtual experiences that seamlessly integrate with the physical layout of a room.

Thanks to technical advancements, users can effortlessly set up their room, gaining insights into its layout and optimal item placement, while still maintaining the freedom to manually place items to fit their desires. This marks a significant stride toward achieving a seamless XR experience.