With online movie streaming services like Netflix and Hulu running amuck among consumers, movie theaters are becoming a thing of the past. Our project brings the movie theater experience to those that prefer those streaming platforms. The project allows users to sync up their online PLEX movie servers with the theater in order to view any of the movies from their own server.
We built the theater in Unity as we enjoyed the easy Unity support provided. Neither of us had any experience with Unity before but we felt that it was user friendly enough to learn it within the allotted time. We learned how to use C sharp via YouTube videos and a online course through Udemy to write the scripts to play a video from a server URL, teleport players between the lobby/theater, and move around with a controller when using the Oculus Rift. This process taught us a lot about the development cycle, as well as tangible skills like C Sharp programming and Unity creation tools.
The most difficult task proved to be getting whatever movie was selected from the server to play on the screen with proper audio syncing. Through trial and error we were able to come up to a solution in the end where the user will walk into the movie poster for the movie they want to view. The movie posters also come from the PLEX server as PNG files which had to be mapped to a mesh in Unity so that they can change when the user picks a new movie.
The next step would be to include networking so that multiple users could exist within the same world and watch a movie together. This would add a social aspect that the movie theaters are normally known for. Also Oculus Rift still isn't at a price point where it is likely that multiple friends would own the device in order to enjoy this shared experience which is why we prioritized other features over this one.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.