Courtside Social: More Than a Game, A Connection

International students face unique challenges in mental health that come with adapting to a new culture and being apart from loved ones. Courtside Social is a social VR tennis experience aimed to foster community building and reduce the isolation often experienced by these students, as well as the wider student body.

Our research shows that:

• International students frequently experience loneliness and isolation
• Domestic students may feel uncertain about initiating cross-cultural interactions
• Traditional icebreakers and social events often feel forced or awkward, discouraging genuine connection

How might we design a shared virtual space that encourages natural, cross-cultural interaction between students through play?

Our solution: leverage sports and VR immersion as universal languages that transcend culture and fluency.

Current VR sports apps are either hyper-competitive or lack meaningful social connection. Students need a environment where they can unwind, socialize, and feel connected, even when they are physically apart.

We chose tennis as the central activity:

• It requires natural, physical gestures (swinging, moving), ideal for VR
• It’s simple to understand globally
• It balances competition and cooperation, making it easy to shift between friendly matches and team-based play

We designed user flows and journey maps to plan smooth sequences for various actions that users may take while using our VR app. Through these, we mapped out emotional states, frustrations, expectations, and opportunities for improvement across the entire VR experience.

Once we had decided on the components of the experience, we developed an initial low-fidelity prototype.

Our first high-fidelity prototype applied the brand style guide (colors, typography, iconography), while incorporating accessibility methods such as perceptible information, low physical effort, and intuitive use.

We tested this prototype with four participants, using a think-aloud protocol, structured interviews, and a System Usability Scale (SUS) survey.

Pain Points Identified:

• Users struggled with text visibility against light backgrounds, occasional inconsistencies in popup styles, and unclear username displays.
• Several participants requested a “skip demo” option and more obvious selection indicators.
• Some UI elements felt slightly cluttered, and the scoreboard was hard to read in certain environments.
• In-game scoring language (“Your team gets +1”) also required clarification.

What Users Loved:
Participants praised the polished look and feel, expressive avatar animations, intuitive navigation, and helpful accessibility features like back, pause, and mute. Social features such as friend invites and map selection were particularly well received, along with the smooth onboarding flow.

SUS Score:
The prototype achieved a score of 86.25, reflecting a very high level of usability and user satisfaction.

Based on user feedback, we made the following changes:

• Improved readability & clarity: Added text-background overlays, increased spacing, and refined wording across the interface.
• Consistent & cohesive UI design: Standardized styling across screens and introduced a mascot for visual cohesion.
• Enhanced selection & interaction states: Made selection states more prominent and improved button interactions.
• Stronger navigation support: Added a Help button and an optional “Skip Demo” to assist both new and returning users.

The design process for Courtside Social deepened my understanding of VR environments, accessibility challenges, and social interactions.

What worked: Clear spatial design, engaging animations and collaborative features were key for this experience.

What didn’t: User testing showed how 3D environments can compromise clarity and visibility if not properly tuned.

Takeaways:

• Digital experiences can bring people together just as much as (or more than!) traditional environments.
• Small inconsistencies become big distractions in immersive spaces.
• Testing is essential to identify issues overlooked during the early stages of creation.