A previous paper [Schou and Gardner 2007] has described a project to port a games engine into a two-walled Immersive Projection Theatre (IPT) and to interact with that environment using the Nintendo "Wii" Remote. In the present work, we update this project to describe how Wii controllers have now been demonstrated to work with a custom-built, multiple "Sensor Bar" array to achieve a greater coverage of the IPT.

The Nintendo Wii Remote is having a huge impact on the computer games industry. This paper describes a project which is integrating this controller into a game environment in a multi-wall virtual reality theatre. Aspects considered include interaction taxonomies of the Wii controller, the extension of driver software to have the Wii controller deal with multiple Sensor Bars at once, and the porting of the game engine into the virtual reality theatre.

Mainstream technologies are evolving ever closer to the quality generally associated with the field virtual reality (VR). With the average screen size and quality increasing, computer games providing richer and more realistic environments, and gesture systems becoming more common place, this thesis poses the question, "can virtual reality gain anything from these mainstream technologies?" In addressing this thought, we pose the more specific question, "can mainstream technologies such as a games engine and modern controller be ported to an virtual reality theatre in order to construct a more involving and immersive experience?"

In answering this question, this thesis explores the difficulties of combining these technologies and bringing them to a virtual reality theatre.

It commences with an exploration of technologies viable for creating a virtual environment and concludes on the use of the Wedge VR theatre as a display device, the Nintendo Wiimote as the control device, and the use of the Source game engine to support the functions of the virtual world, including the audio and visuals. In choosing these technologies, it is hoped they can provided immersive visuals, intuitive control and a realistic environment that includes believable characters and a physics systems to be witnessed in the field of virtual reality for one of the first times.

The Wiimote is then analysed to determine some best practises for its use and to calculate some of its physical qualities. From these qualities, it is shown that five sensor bars are required to allow the Wiimote to work naturally within the Wedge space. This discovery then dictates the majority of the development work, namely, the need for a driver allowing the Wiimote to span multiple sensor bars, as well as the construction of five sensor bars. Additionally, the Source engine is modified to allow it to run naturally within the Wedge, and to facilitate the use of Wiimote by incorporating some of the findings from the analysis.

Finally, the project concludes with a preliminary user study conducted on the developed environment. This study shows the environment to be successful, and in doing so, demonstrates that computer game technologies can be used successfully to facilitate immersion and involvement. As a supplementary finding, it also shown that the multi–sensor bar approach taken to incorporating the Wiimote in a VR theatre is a viable solution which could be adopted by future VR work.