Inspiration
We wanted to bring the chaotic joy of throwing paint to the comfort of your home—without the cleanup. In a weightless digital world, we craved a "Magic Moment" where virtual actions have a visceral impact on the physical environment. Inspired by street art, we asked: What if you could redecorate your boring white walls with a splash of color in seconds?
What it does
Color Ball MR is a Mixed Reality action app that transforms your physical environment into a dynamic playground.
- Room Scanning: Instantly maps real-world walls and furniture using Quest 3's spatial awareness.
- Tactile Throwing: Users use Quest Touch Controllers to physically aim and throw virtual color balls with realistic physics.
- Dynamic Painting: Upon impact, balls splatter with a satisfying "squish" sound, leaving permanent decals that conform to your room's actual geometry.
- Stress Relief: Trash your room with color, then reset it instantly with a single button.
How we built it
We built this project using Unity, the Meta Presence Platform, and OpenXR.
- Passthrough: Grounds the user in reality, ensuring safety and immersion.
- Custom Decals: We developed a projection system that ensures paint splats look liquid and organic, regardless of the angle of the wall or furniture they hit.
Challenges we ran into
- UV Mapping: Applying paint decals to automatically generated meshes initially caused textures to stretch unnaturally. We fine-tuned the interaction between our projection system and the mesh UVs to maintain high visual fidelity.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- The "Splat" Feel: We perfected the "Magic Moment" of impact. By synchronizing spatial audio with instant visual feedback, we created a satisfying loop that makes the simple act of throwing feel incredible.
What we learned
- The Unpredictability of Physical Spaces: Unlike VR, in MR, the user's messy room is the level. We learned the importance of defensive coding to handle complex room geometries.
- Sensory Synchronization: High-fidelity graphics alone don't sell the illusion. Precisely syncing the "squish" sound with the visual effect is essential for true immersion.
What's next for Color Ball MR
We plan to evolve this from a stress-relief tool into a comprehensive platform:
- Gamification: Adding targets and scores to introduce competitive elements.
- Multiplayer: Using Shared Spatial Anchors to enable local "Paint Wars" in the same room.
- Interior Design: Partnering with paint manufacturers to allow users to "test" real colors on their walls before buying, turning the app into a practical tool.
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