Ocean Sight One VR Game 2.0
Clients: Ocean Sight One Research Collaborative, Dr. Haungs
https://laes.calpoly.edu/OSOprojects
https://laes.calpoly.edu/content/news
https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cpesp/347/
Project Description: The Ocean Sight One (OSO) VR experience is an immersive, interactive virtual reality environment that allows users to engage with the sea ecology integrated into California’s offshore oil platforms through embodied, first-person engagement. Users adopt the role of an intern working for the Love Lab, a marine biology research center at UC Santa Barbara, and complete tasks that support the preservation of this delicate ecosystem. By combining real-world data and casual gameplay-based learning, the experience invites participants to connect with marine life, understand the ecological role of the platforms, and ultimately foster greater awareness of and empathy for this unique and precious environmental system.
Project Background: Offshore oil platforms along the California coast, particularly near Santa Barbara, were originally built in the mid-20th century to extract petroleum from rich underwater reserves, becoming symbols of industrial expansion as well as environmental risk—especially after events like the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, which galvanized public opposition and shaped long-standing negative perceptions of these structures. Over time, however, scientific research has revealed a more complex reality: as oil production declined, the submerged structures of these platforms were colonized by marine organisms, transforming them into highly productive artificial reefs. Mussels, barnacles, anemones, and sponges attach to the platform bases, creating habitat that attracts fish species such as rockfish and lingcod, leading to biodiversity levels that can exceed those of nearby natural reefs. These ecosystems now support dense marine populations and contribute to fisheries, creating a paradox in which structures once viewed solely as environmental hazards are also recognized as valuable ecological habitats, complicating decisions about their removal or preservation.
Abstract/Summary
Ocean Sight One is an interdisciplinary project group consisting of Cal Poly staff and students from several different departments. It exists to educate the public on the marine ecosystems near the Santa Barbara coastline that is the home of twenty-three abandoned oil rigs. Despite one’s initial reaction to these massive abandoned structures, they actually provide an incredibly diverse dwelling for numerous forms of sea life. The site is a shining beacon for marine ecology researchers trying to formulate how to preserve wildlife in an era of worsening global environmental disruptions. The future of these oil rigs are not certain, as the State of California will decide on moving forward with one of the several proposed solutions to safely maintain the rigs, dismantle them completely, exclusively remove the tops of the rigs, etc. Ocean Sight One does not side with any solution, but wishes to express the context and outcomes of the potential solutions in an unbiased format. As part of a portable exhibit, a mobile AR app and VR headset will be available for users to get a supplemental visual education on the information provided by the research compiled by the Ocean Sight One team. Extended Reality products are a growing field that much of the public has not been fully engrossed in. As the technology advances, the medium becomes easier to develop for and can provide experiences that are suitable for a variety of people. Many of the mixed reality experiences do not attempt to strike a balance between education and entertainment, they tend to be one or the other. The work will consist of some miniature game-like activities, several unique 360 O videos, and informational tidbits about the oil rig ecosystems. User testing has been integrated throughout workable builds of the project to gather data on how the applications serve as an engaging way to learn bits of information. The final builds of the project will be used as an engagement tool for visitors of Ocean Sight One hosted exhibits.
