How To Play ASL Fingerspeller for the Oculus Quest
Set Up
Download
Download the APK for ASL Fingerspeller for the Oculus Quest by clicking one of the buttons below.
Install
If you have not sideloaded an app onto your quest before, follow the steps in this article to learn how.
The steps are:
Enable developer mode on your Quest
Install SideQuest on your computer
Allow USB debugging between your quest and your computer
Install the APK by dragging the file onto the top left corner of SideQuest
Alternatively, find the “Install APK file from folder on computer” button in the top right of SideQuest, and install through file explorer
Launch
First ensure that hand tracking is enabled on your Quest. To do this:
Go to settings from the home menu
Select Device
Select Hands and Controllers
Enable Hand Tracking
You can also enable Auto Enable Hands or Controllers
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To launch the game follow these steps:
From the home menu, go to your library
Select Unknown Sources (from the left in the old menu, or the top right in the new menu)
Find and select ASL Fingerspeller
If you were using controllers, put them down
Play
Main Menu
The first thing you will see is the main menu. From here you can navigate to the 3 parts of the game: Sign calibration, Practice, and the Fingerspelling challenge. There is also an option to quit the game. To select any of these options, hold up your hand towards your desired choice until the ray from your palm latches on to the button. Then tap your index finger and your thumb together to select.
Calibrate
In the calibration mode, you can train the system to know your hands. First decide if you want to use your right hand or your left hand. Then look down and ‘click’ on the respective hand. Hold your active hand in the shape shown by the model in front of you. When you feel that you are accurately representing the sign, use your other hand to ‘click’ on save sign. Try to remember the way you produced the sign with your active hand. Put your hand in the shape of the next letter, and hit save again. Repeat this process for all 26 letters of the alphabet.
Letters J and Z are dynamic signs, each sign traces the shape of the letter. This game can only recognize static signs. When saving J and Z, hold your hand in the ending pose of the letter, then ‘click’ save. When producing J and Z in the fingerspelling challenge, do the whole motion of the sign.
Once you have saved all the signs, return to the main menu.
*Known bug: Your active hand should be colored green and your inactive hand should be colored pink, however these colors only show when holding your hands with your palms towards your face.
Practice
Once you have saved signs for all the letters of the alphabet, head into practice mode to test them out.
Look at the model of the sign and replicate the sign the way you saved it. When you correctly produce a sign, the respective letter will appear in front of the hand model of that sign. Go through the alphabet and make sure you can successfully produce each sign. Once you’ve practiced enough, return to the main menu.
Fingerspell
Click level select to be go into the Fingerspelling Challenge mode. There are five levels you can choose from:
Level 1 - Names
Level 2 - U.S. States
Level 3 - Countries
Level 4 - Cities
Level 5 - Flowers
Each level consists of five words. Spell all five correctly to complete the level! The word to spell is shown under the level number. Produce the signs for each letter in the word. When you produce a sign correctly and the system detects it, the letter will appear beneath the word to spell. Once you complete the word, a new word will appear automatically. When all words have been completed, you will see a summary of your performance.
Instructional Video
If words aren’t your thing, watch this video to learn how to play!
An instructional video that will show you how to install and play the game.
My presentation video which explains a little more about why and how I made the game.
A second instructional video that walks you through the gameplay of the video.
