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Project Status

This document explains the current state of the project, why development was paused, and what lessons were learned.

Why the Project Was Shelved

In January 2026, I started a new position working with Meta's native SDK rather than OpenXR. The two SDKs have fundamentally different approaches:

Aspect OpenXR (This Project) Meta Native SDK (Work)
Input System XR Interaction Toolkit OVRInput
Controller Handling XRController + Action Maps OVRCameraRig
Hand Tracking XR Hands OVRHand
Passthrough OpenXR Extensions OVRPassthroughLayer
Performance APIs Standard Unity OVRManager + OVRMetrics

Context-switching between these two paradigms became impractical. Rather than produce subpar work in both contexts, I chose to pause this portfolio project.

What Was Completed

Architecture (Complete)

  • ScriptableObject-driven data layer
  • Generic database pattern with O(1) lookups
  • Type-safe event channel system
  • Centralized static access (GameEvents, GameDatabases)
  • Object pooling with priority routing

VR Foundation (Complete)

  • XR Rig setup with locomotion options
  • Teleport, smooth locomotion, snap/smooth turn
  • Controller input mappings
  • Haptic feedback system

Combat System (75%)

  • Weapon base classes and inheritance hierarchy
  • Melee, bow, staff, shield, throwable weapon types
  • WeaponData ScriptableObjects
  • WeaponHitbox collision detection
  • XR grab integration

Missing: Velocity-based damage calculation, hit feedback polish

Enemy System (70%)

  • Component-based architecture (Controller, Health, Movement, Animator, Attack)
  • EnemyData ScriptableObjects
  • NavMesh navigation
  • Wave spawning system
  • Object pooling integration

Missing: AI state machine, animation polish, variety

UI System (60%)

  • UI Toolkit integration
  • Factory-View-Host architecture
  • Start menu, settings panels
  • Loading screen
  • Enemy health bars

Missing: Pause menu, arena HUD, results screen, wrist UI

Save System (85%)

  • ESave integration
  • MetaProgressionData structure
  • Event-driven save/load
  • Settings persistence

Missing: Autosave triggers, save indicator UI

What Was Not Started

  • Shop system
  • Equipment selection UI
  • Player levelling with progression curves
  • Roguelike meta-progression loop
  • Leaderboards
  • Tutorial

Technical Highlights

Strong Points

The architecture demonstrates professional Unity development practices:

  1. Decoupled Systems - Event channels allow systems to communicate without direct references, making the codebase modular and testable.

  2. Data-Driven Design - ScriptableObjects define all game content, enabling rapid iteration without code changes.

  3. VR Performance Awareness - Object pooling, priority-based updates, and non-allocating physics queries keep frame rates stable.

  4. Memory Safety - UI Toolkit patterns with proper subscription management prevent memory leaks.

  5. Clean Code Organization - Consistent folder structure, namespaces, and naming conventions.

Lessons Learned

  1. Scope Management - The original scope was too ambitious for a solo portfolio project. Should have focused on a complete vertical slice rather than breadth.

  2. SDK Lock-in - Building on OpenXR was the right choice for portability, but made transitioning to Meta's ecosystem more difficult.

  3. Documentation First - Writing documentation while building forced clearer thinking about architecture decisions.

  4. VR Playtesting - More frequent on-device testing would have caught comfort and usability issues earlier.

Code Quality Assessment

Based on self-review:

Category Grade Notes
Architecture A Excellent layering, proper patterns
Code Organization A- Great structure, minor namespace inconsistencies
Documentation A XML docs, markdown documentation
VR Best Practices A Non-allocating physics, pooling, update throttling
Completeness C+ Many systems incomplete
Ship Readiness C Core loop exists but incomplete

If Development Resumed

Priority order for completing the project:

  1. Game Flow Manager - Complete state machine to enable full gameplay loop
  2. Pause System - Critical for VR usability
  3. Results Screen - Provide player feedback after combat
  4. Player Health UI - Essential gameplay information
  5. Simplified Shop - Core progression mechanic
  6. Polish Pass - Combat feedback, animations, audio

Estimated time to MVP: 4-6 weeks of focused development.

Repository Contents

Assets/
├── Scripts/           # C# source code (documented)
├── Data/              # ScriptableObject assets
├── Prefabs/           # Weapon, enemy, UI prefabs
├── Scenes/            # Bootstrapper, Hub, Arena scenes
└── UI/                # USS stylesheets

Docs/                  # This documentation

The codebase is clean and well-documented, suitable for review or continuation by another developer.