When creating stuff for User Experience and Augmented Reality, we were shown the website 8th Wall, to get an understanding. An exercise was given to us as to understand what could be made and how the website works and how to create the basics.
To start with we learnt how to add in objects and showcase how lighting works inside this website, along with how easy it is compared to other programs. Compared to Blender, which requires multiple settings and factors, The 8th Wall only needs a few settings confirmed before a shadow is made.
However, I believe features being made depends on what the person wants to achieve. For example, if lighting would be a more important factor in the style or creation process, Blender would be the better alternative. But, in the context of an AR setting, I believe these shortcuts are helpful in the creation process.
After placing down objects, the physics engine was then tested. This was done by applying physics to the ball, and floor. This included raising the amount of bounce the ball would have. This would then be showcased in a demo to see its effectiveness. Afterwards another object would be added and the same physics applied to it. When the demo would start again, the physics would be on display.
After watching the two objects collide, a ramp would be introduced. This was added from outside the program to showcase how models from different programs, such as blender and maya, could be added in to this engine. To end it off, we applied the same physics one more time and watched how the two objects interacted with it. Overall, this resulted in a good first impression and test of the basics that can be achieved in The 8th Wall.
After doing the tutorial, I decided to create my own shape within Blender, and ported it into The 8th Wall to see how thorough it was when porting it over and how other objects would interact with it. This shape was made to have multiple different sharp edges to see how it interacts with a plane. Then from there, I made a ramp shape out of 3 different planes with different rotations to see what would happen.
This experiment gave me a better understanding of 8th Wall and what could be achieved inside of it. From here I could port over multiple different models and create a fun experience about them interacting with each other.
If I was to return to The 8th Wall, I would use the tools I’ve been taught with models that I had created in other programs, to experiment with what options there are and what I could do with them in an AR setting. Personally, I could see myself making something like Pokémon Go, which also uses AR elements with character models and art to create a fun game.
References
Niantic Inc, 2016, Pokémon Go, Pokémon GO [Accessed on 20/10/2025]