Community VR Project

Shift Culture VR

A VR dirt bike safety prototype built for B-360 under real client, hardware, and accessibility constraints.

At a glance

Project

VR dirt-bike safety prototype for B-360, a Baltimore youth STEM nonprofit

Team

Built with Zefran Jehle and Lewis Plested in Dr. Elka Cahn's community game-design class

My Role

Technical implementation, VR interaction flow, gameplay feel, and comfort testing

Prototype Result

Reviewed in person with B-360; testers reported no motion sickness during the session

Why It Matters

Featured by the University of Baltimore Newsroom on January 30, 2026

The prototype had to reflect B-360's mission, run on affordable mobile VR hardware, and make sense in workshops.

  • - Built with the Baltimore nonprofit B-360 around its workshop needs.
  • - Designed around Google Cardboard-style access instead of high-end VR assumptions.
  • - Reviewed in person with B-360 during prototype testing.
Read UBalt StoryVisit B-360

Source: University of Baltimore Newsroom

Core Loop

  • - Inspect a dirt bike in a workshop to learn parts and placement.
  • - Answer short quiz prompts tied to safety and bike knowledge.
  • - Test ride the bike in first-person instead of stopping at a static learning scene.
  • - Deliver a prototype B-360 could evaluate for workshops and outreach.

Main Constraints

  • Affordable VR TargetThe prototype was built around Google Cardboard-style mobile VR instead of expensive headset setups.
  • Comfort FirstCamera behavior, movement, and pacing were tuned to reduce sickness risk for first-time VR users.
  • Real-World UseThe goal was to give B-360 a prototype they could evaluate for workshops and outreach.

How We Built It

  • - Regular class critiques and team check-ins kept the scope under control.
  • - Desktop and mobile test loops helped us catch comfort, clarity, and stability problems early.
  • - We kept revising the UI, onboarding, and interactions to make the prototype easier for first-time users to follow.

B-360 Feedback

  • - We showed B-360 a working prototype during our final in-person meeting and gathered direct reactions while they playtested it.
  • - That session helped us see how the project might fit real workshops instead of just classroom expectations.
  • - Nobody reported motion sickness during the session, which mattered a lot for a low-cost mobile VR build.
  • - That feedback mattered more because it came from the people the project was for.

Current Status

  • - The semester ended before the final cross-platform version was finished.
  • - As of March 2026, Zefran and I plan to keep developing the project through Summer 2026.
  • - The current target is a cleaner build for PC, Android phones, and Meta Quest headsets.
  • - The next pass is focused on quality-of-life improvements, onboarding, polish, and broader device support.

What I Learned

  • - I learned to judge VR decisions by usefulness, comfort, and access rather than novelty.
  • - It taught me more about working with a real client and real constraints than a typical classroom project.
  • - It also reminded me why I care about XR when it is tied to people and a real use case.