Create a virtual space at a space creation company

The end of corona is still far away, and activities such as events in real facility spaces are being reduced or postponed, and operations are being restricted. On the other hand, the number of virtual exhibitions and online events has increased rapidly, and the number of new points of contact in the virtual space has increased over the past year.
Since the first state of emergency declaration last year, NOMLAB, a laboratory with the theme of "digital innovation x place creation", has been working on several projects to develop new spatial experiences in anticipation of the With / After Corona, New Normal. started. One is a prototype for augmenting the spatial experience with "sound", which was produced with GATARI Inc., a venture company that develops voice placement applications.
The other is the virtual space prototype development in collaboration with NOMURA Co., Ltd. 's space designer team. This time, I would like to introduce the virtual space pursued by the members of NOMURA Co., Ltd., who have continued to create real spaces and experiences.

Create a virtual space unique to NOMURA Co., Ltd., which has continued to create spaces

Early summer of 2020. A young NOMLAB design engineer murmured such a thing while watching the virtual exhibition that was a hot topic at the time. At the same time, a member of the design department said, "In anticipation of an increase in virtual space design work in the future, we will create a virtual booth prototype. Why don't you try making it?", such opinions began to emerge. The discussion led to the design department members and NOMLAB members starting a project to create a virtual space unique to NOMURA Co., Ltd., which has continued to create spaces.

Affiliation and title are as of February 24, 2021

Experiential value of space creation × Breaking away from the idea of real space

While sharing various online and offline booth examples and considering what kind of virtual booth we should create as a space creation company, we received the following message from the creative deputy general manager, who was watching the discussion from a bird's eye view. rice field.

Since the core members of this prototype are also designers, we have shifted to pursuing the virtual space from a creative point of view. Breaking away from the idea of real space, we decided to plan the experience based on the information organizing ability that we have cultivated in the pursuit of spatial experience.

At the same time, we used Unreal Engine 4 to create an experience little by little so that the planning image and what could be implemented as a prototype would match, and we proceeded in parallel with the planning image and the verification of the experience when attaching the head-mounted display. .
As a result, as the first step, we started to create a simple space setting and specialize in an immersive experience.

Verification in NOMLAB's experiment room (Basically, I worked from home, and during verification, I wore a mask, disinfected with alcohol, and thoroughly ventilated.)

A virtual booth where you can learn about the history of NOMURA Co., Ltd. and see the latest examples

What is the virtual booth showing? This time, we decided to create a booth to learn about NOMURA Co., Ltd.
The founding of NOMURA Co., Ltd. dates back to 1892. Taisuke Nomura, who was a tabi craftsman, became interested in theatrical performances and switched to a tool-maker. Its history is full of challenges, such as starting to work on it, and I thought that if you can see that history as a gallery, you can see that NOMURA Co., Ltd. is a company that continues to take on challenges.
On the other hand, recently there are cases where the space is shot with a 360° camera, and if you can show the latest example with a spherical image, you can show it in a realistic way as if you were there. The experience of whether it is possible has been added.
​In this way, we were able to create a virtual booth with dual aspects of "enlightenment" and "sales promotion," where "you can learn about the history of NOMURA Co., Ltd. and see the latest examples."​

Prototype "Infinity Step ~ Everlasting Aspiration ~"

We would like to introduce the outline of the "Infinity Step" (named after NOMURA Co., Ltd. 's tireless challenge) that was developed in this way.

History is viewed in a gallery format, and the latest cases provide an experience like visiting the place

Based on the study of keeping the space setting simple, in the phase of tracing the history, the gallery was divided into 4 floors from the foundation to the present. , is formatted to look around.
When you reach the top area, you will see a number of spherical images floating in the space, and when your eyes meet, you will be able to enter the spherical images and experience the experience of actually visiting the space. I made an introduction.

Produced using Unreal Engine 4

The production uses the 3D platform Unreal Engine 4. At NOMLAB, there are members who use Unity and Unreal Engine 4, but this time, the members created from scratch using Unreal Engine 4. All the members prepared many variations of the experience during the examination stage, including a shooting game and a function to make the space larger or smaller, but during the verification phase of the experience, we concentrated on the operation. This time, the experience was also simplified, as we learned that there are people who are not impressed with the message they want to appeal because they are stuck in the space, and there are beginners who still need to get used to the space. . However, for those who are used to it, there are times when they can enjoy complicated operations and game-like elements, and it seems that such solutions will be able to be deployed extensively in the second phase and future phases.

At first, we were also creating highly game-like experiences

you can experience

During the production of this prototype, we were able to share our creative know-how, such as experience planning in a virtual space and how to improve design quality.
At the same time, through the creation of virtual spaces, we realized that the ability to organize information cultivated through the creation of real spaces is a unique feature of our company's planning and design. (Do you have an image of studying abroad, realizing the originality and goodness of Japan, returning to Japan, and working from a new perspective?).
In the future, we will continue to aim for NOMURA Co., Ltd., which can handle everything from planning to implementation in all spatial experiences of the future without boundaries between real and virtual spaces. We will also start

The prototype can now be experienced in our company with a head-mounted display. In addition, since it is also a corona disaster, it will be possible to view the video on smartphones and PCs from March. If you are interested, please contact us here.
In addition, as the official name of NOMLAB, Nomura Open Innovation Lab, suggests, we are working on creation with various external parties in an open innovation format, so we would like to work together to create future spatial experiences. We are always looking forward to meeting companies, creators, and engineers who want to collaborate.