MGM Resorts (Metaverse)
In March of 2022, SCADpro and MGM Resorts collaborated to conceptualize how the brand could take advantage of the metaverse to expand its portfolio to the digital world. The diverse, multi-faceted team envisioned a wide array of possibilities for MGM Resorts to secure its position as a leading brand in the physical and digital entertainment industries.
Team
Team
UX designer
User researcher
Production designer
3D artist
My role
UX designer
Skill used
Interview, Data analysis, Wireframes, Prototypes, UI Design, Usability Testing, Visual Design
Time frame
10 Weeks
Team members
SCAD pro MGM Team
Problem
How might we enable Gen Z to enjoy an immersive concert with more interaction with the artist?
Solution
As the world moves into the web 3.0 transformation, bringing entertainment into the digital realm, we believe that this is an opportunity for MGM to pioneer the never before done variety of shows. MGM Live takes virtual music entertainment to the next level with hybrid concerts that are synchronous between the artist physically performing in an MGM arena while simultaneously performing in the virtual world using the power of real time motion capture technology and visual effects!
Crafted with Care
Main features.
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360° camera for video recording
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Music interactive games.
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Digital lightsticks.
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Socialize with participants or acquaintances in the concert.
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Control the crowd.
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Purchase the gift for the artist.
Purchase ticket.
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Browse Top concerts and trending events.
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Purchase different tiers of tickets for a customized experience.
Payment.
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Make a payment and get the ticket of the QR code.
OVERVIEW
*A REAL CONCERT WHEREVER AND WHENEVER YOU ARE.
MGM LIVE is a VR concert platform to promote the brand, MGM Resorts International.
What makes MGM LIVE unique is the way performers interact with the audience. The platform allows audiences to join a concert in Las Vegas comfortably in their own room without having to travel to Las Vegas.
MGM Resorts operates under a core belief that entertainment is a fundamental human need. Therefore, brand decisions are driven to engage, entertain, and inspire the millions of guests.
New Normal brings opportunity.
Over the past 2 years, the entertainment economy has gone into recession as the Covid-19 has shut down a number of public performances and called for a reduction in crowd-sourced events and venues. We have had to prepare for a "New Normal". The performance culture we once enjoyed has entered an economic downturn.
On the flip side, the new epidemic brought challenges as well as opportunities to the music industry - it forced people to come up with more creative designs to break the constraints of time and viewing space in the post-epidemic era. Meanwhile, VR concerts emerged.
The emergence of the metaverse in popular culture has presented MGM Resorts with a new opportunity to expand its brand beyond its physical spaces. Consumers who can utilize their digital spaces to make memories and connections with others online and be wowed in ways that are impossible in real life.
CHALLENGES
01/ SECONDARY RESEARCH
Started from the field trip to Las Vegas
Before starting the commencement of the project, the SCADpro team along with the professors, visited Park MGM in Las Vegas for a client immersion meeting.
The clients hope that properties of MGM can be reimagined in conjunction with web 3.0 to build an immersive experience for its attendees.
Market Research
VR Concert
I conducted a research on Virtual Reality market share and the potential of VR concert and found that VR concert has a promising future in consideration of global VR market size and growth rate.
28.42 B
Global VR market size
15%
Growth rate
Growth rate
02/ DEFINE
Interview &
Survey
To understand the audience, we used two approaches: survey and 1-on-1 interview to study audience. We interviewed 30 interviewees and collected 324 questionnaires with people inside our target demographic.
Questions we asked.
Survey Analysis
4 Themes 8 Insights
Target user group
*How might we enable Gen Z to enjoy an immersive concert with more interaction with the artist in Las Vegas?
03/ DESIGN
MVP Feature list
User Journey Map
We separated the whole user journey of a concert into three stages, including Pre-concert, During-concert, and Post-concert. And we distilled the features and users' insights into each stage to create an immersive and interactive experience.
Information Architecture
Task flow &
Wireframes
During-concert
Pre-concert
Post-concert
Technology Exploration for audience
Technology for artists
Real time motion capture technology and visual effects!
MGM Live takes virtual music entertainment to the next level with hybrid concerts that are synchronous between the artist physically performing in an MGM arena while simultaneously performing in the virtual world using the power of real time motion capture technology and visual effects!
Usability Testing & Improvement
Audience
Improvement 01
Improvement 02
Artist
Perception Neuron Suit and calibration testing
We asked the dancer who is regarded as the artist to wear motion-capture suits and see if it works.
“Artist’s motions can be captured by Neuro and presented in VR world in real-time.”
“It doesn’t influence my dance costume because it’s light and small.”
04/ DELIVERY
Pre-concert
Prepare your device
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For the new users, the platform provides a tutorial for them to familiarize the process, reduce the learning curve, increase adoption, and promote engagement.
GIF
Enter VR mode of concert
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Guidance of operation is available for users to quickly understand the rule and
During-concert
How do key features meet the user's need of interaction with the artist?
Access to all features in main concert page.
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The main features are in the menu at the bottom of the page to quickly access.
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Show participants in total to show how popular this concert is and increase engagement.
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360° camera is what the user wants to take pictures and videos with the artist, which can increase the interaction with the artist.
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Provide different view to improve the immersive experience.
VR music game
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when the artist is singing the song with strong beat, You can play musical games to the beat of the music, which is a great way to interact and connect with the artist.
Color Cue
Just Dance
Beat Saber
Digital nightsticks
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Light sticks can be synced with the music and the VR environment, creating a synchronized light show that enhances the overall concert experience.
How do key features meet the user's need for socialization?
Stream to social media
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Share and discuss the event with their friends and followers, leading to more engagement and excitement.
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Streaming to those social media can increase the reach and accessibility of the concert to a wider audience.
A key insight from the primary research performed was that one of the most important aspects of attending physical concerts is socialization; not just with friends but also with other fans of the artist with similar interests. To keep the essence of this socialization, MGM Live brings it into the digital realm where players will have the chance to interact with fans and feel like they are a part of a crowd.
Control the crowd
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Reduce the requirements for network speed and computing power. which ensure that everyone has a positive experience.
Post-concert
Online store
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Audiences can purchase the gifts or co-brand products in the online store which can be accessed on the global navigation after the concert.
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It provides a way for fans to continue engaging with the artist or event after the concert.
Iteration(Online store)
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Clients and stakeholders hope to use the sense of audiences’ excitement and urgency to stimulate to make payment.
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Get the recommended co-brand products immediately after the concert to purchase.
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Increase the interaction and connection after the concert.
Other pages (Order the ticket before the concert)
Clickable prototype
Home
MGM recommended top concerts
recently and its brief introduction on the homepage.
Trending concerts will recommend the top popular concerts. There are categorized by different styles of performance.
List
It will show all the top concerts and their detailed information including location, how many people have booked and its style. Users can also collect it.
Compatible on different devices
Browse events
VR Music games
05/ IMPACT & NEXT
Impact
“ I will definitely bring this idea to our development and design team and advance it to the next design stage.”
Reflection
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Always update new ideas and deliverables with the team to keep everybody on the same page
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Communicate early and often with your stakeholders
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Task prioritization and time management are important in a tight schedule.
Next step
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I would explore more touchpoints that make audiences and artists more engaged during the interaction of the concert.
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I would delve into the feature of socialization which I want to add the feature of private booth for inviting other friends to a specific area. It’s more customized.
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I would improve the user interface design and make the component and visual design more close to the WCAG standards.
Production
Virtual production combines camera tracking and real-time rendering to create an immersive virtual environment, visible live on set and shot directly in camera. It is a series of ultra-high resolution fifty-foot LED panels that allows creators to input any environment onto the stage.
For MGM Live, the XR Stage has been used to host the live concert to demonstrate the proof of concept. Bruno Mars and his backup dancers are seen performing on top of MGM properties with the skyline view behind them, all filmed through the XR Stage.
Perception Neuron Suit and calibration
Dancer Rehearsal
Virtual Live
Virtual Live
Virtual Live
XR Stage
To track the real-time performance of our performer on stage, the Perception Neuron suit has been used. It is a motion capture suit worn by the artist that controls the rig of their avatar in the virtual world in real-time. This allows the audience in VR to watch the performer in real-time without missing a beat of their actions.
Physical Live
Virtual and Physical Concert in Presentation Scene
Bruno Mars was chosen to be the represented artist in the performance due to his current Vegas residency and association with the company, with his song 24k Magic selected to reflect the culture of Vegas.
In the performance, Bruno Mars and backup dancers are seen on top of the centrifuge of MGM Grand, overlooking the Vegas skyline at night. Utilizing the technology of an XR Volume stage, physical set pieces representing the centrifuge as a stage combined with virtual sets and backdrops developed in Unreal Engine were set up.
Credit to
SCADpro Team
Our Cross-function Team!
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