Other ideas (VR / AR)

I wanted to look at other possibilities for the original idea I had.

For instance, I searched for a VR version of Minesweeper and found this video (By Rorius) showcasing a game: 

That is a Mine! - MineSweeper VR - Full Game

In the video, the game is set in a war-type environment, including models like tanks placed around the playing area. 

Overall the game seems quite disorientating and there is no tutorial. Rorius, the person playing the game, comments on some of the challenges of this game format since they struggle to figure out the controls and he says "I wish these had targets on them so I can see where I was pointing" in reference to the tools used to flag and click squares. Overall from what I can see from this video this game is not the most user-friendly. I did like the theming of the game though and also when you fail the blocks that make up the gameboard all explode which is quite cool. 

I also found this interesting video of a VR bomb diffusing game where you have to find a bomb within a room and then solve an equation to diffuse it. A18 Minesweeper VR - YouTube

This video shows a version of Minesweeper in the game VR Chat https://youtu.be/QFaeGbZqkak?si=Hd29qBuznkHYb_XF&t=151 (Warning swearing). This version seems more user-friendly and is multiplayer. You also pick up a flag and place it which is a nice interaction to include. Also when the players fail the map/ board game falls and the players fall into the void, which is an interesting way to end the game.

From this research, it does seem possible to make a minesweeper game for VR. However, it would most likely be challenging to make and user experience would be a big factor to consider. Also, I did have problems making something for VR before and I'm also not sure how I would incorporate the story elements that I had planned in my original idea. Another thing about making something VR is that since I don't own a VR headset I would have to borrow one and that might make it more challenging to test it especially since I wouldn't be super comfortable (if I were to borrow a VR headset) to take it on the bus with me. I also have concerns about motion sickness, since I did get travel sickness a lot as a child and there have been times when certain games have given me a headache. Since I have only used VR once before (When I viewed my independent project) I'm not sure if it would make me feel dizzy or disorientated if I made something more complex. Because VR does require testing, this would be something I would have to consider alongside the previous problems I had when making something for VR. 

I also found an example of AR Minesweeper (In this case 3D Minesweeper) GitHub - jatin-2k/AR-Minesweeper3D: Minesweeper 3D in Augmented Reality using Unity and Arfoundation and also this video AR Minesweeper - YouTube where you "stand" on the squares off the minesweeper game board to choose what to interact with. Another example is this Spark AR - Minesweeper Game - YouTube however this is more like having the gameboard in the AR space and it is less interactive than the other two examples. 

I also tried searching for treasure hunt AR games and instead, I found out that AR can be used practically for metal detecting Augmented reality 3D ground scan / demonstration of buried object / treasure gold metal detector - YouTube which is really interesting. 

Treasure Hunt - An AR Scavenger Hunt Game - YouTube This AR Treasure hunt game looks really interesting and there seems to be a variety of things that happen in it including shooting a cannon into your house (within the game obviously). There also seems to be a slight puzzle element to the game including finding a metal detector to find a gold coin which is then used in a gumball machine to get a key, the key then opens a chest with a lit candle inside (not very realistic) which is used to light the cannon which blows up a wall to reveal the real treasure (The gold can hopefully be used to repair the hole made in the wall). 

How to build AR treasure hunt using face, world & image tracking| ZapWorks Designer no-code AR tool - YouTube I also found this video which shows how to use "ZapWorks" to create a simple AR app. I believe this is mainly for apps rather than games (and it's subscription-based), but it is interesting to see how it works (as well as the different AR functionalities) and it seems very simple to use. 

Overall there seem to be lots of interesting opportunities with both VR and AR but It would probably be best to solidify my main game idea first since VR/AR might be challenging to implement since I had problems before with VR.