Phenomenology of Digital Perception (PDP) tackles a new emerging topic in the realm of Virtual
Reality and/or Augmented Reality each year. In response to the C-19, the course will pivot away
from head mounted displays (HMD) as they are a significant risk factor and instead utilize the
expertise from both studying both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications to
design and pitch our own augmented reality applications for personal devices.
During the semester students will be introduced to Virtual Reality headsets, Mixed Reality
headsets, 360 degree cameras, 3d scanning applications, and smartphone/tablet apps. This
understanding will supplement the building blocks of the PDP curriculum of learning how video
game engines, specifically Unreal and Unity, can influence the perception of physical and digital
environments through the examination of interactive spatial software. This work will be
conducted alongside a critical reading of the history of gamespaces and the potential of design
and artistic workflows to use these elements in innovative ways.
Students will begin by creating small interactive games or experiences to understand the
capacity of the tools to create engaging experiences. This will be followed by the creation of
augmented reality experiences through emerging platforms specific to AR before transitioning
into the creation of their own standalone AR applications. The semester will culminate in the
development of an AR application pitch targeted for the city itself. In this current age of self-
containment, quarantine and isolation, we will use this final assignment as a way to urge our
users to venture out into the world and safely explore the city of Oakland with an augmented
reality application as their guide. Class meetings may opt to occur offline and on location at the
discretion of the students. This project will seek to highlight the contributions of African-
American architects, builders, thinkers, leaders and visionaries in the history of the rich
landscape of the city of Oakland.
The course requires a mobile device and computer capable of running the free UNITY game
engine (www.unity3d.com) and the free Unreal Engine 4 (www.unrealengine.com). This class
engages the act of "level design" in game design terms to create spatial environments for
interaction.Online course sections will be delivered with both asynchronous and synchronous components as outlined in the course syllabus. Required online synchronous meeting times are listed as the meeting pattern for this course section.

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