Visual effects and elements in video games and interactive virtual environments can be applied to transfer (or delegate) non-visual perceptions (e.g., proprioception, presence, pain) to players and users, thus increasing perceptual diversity via the visual modality. Such elements or effects are referred to as visual delegates (VDs). Current findings on the experiences that VDs can elicit relate to specific VDs, not to VDs in general. Deductive and comprehensive VD evaluation frameworks are lacking. We analyzed VDs in video games to generalize VDs in terms of their visual properties. We conducted a systematic paper analysis to explore player and user experiences observed in association with specific VDs in user studies. We conducted semi-structured interviews with expert players to determine their preferences and the impact of VD properties. The resulting VD framework (VD-frame) contributes to a more strategic approach to identifying the impact of VDs on player and user experiences.

Visual effects and elements to visualize the perceptions of one’s own virtual character (also referred to as Visual Delegates) are often used in video games, e.g., status bars visualize the character’s sense of health, filters on the interface layer visualize the character’s state of mind. It is still largely unexplored whether Visual Delegates can also be used to transfer the perception of non-player characters comprehensibly. Therefore, we developed a medical virtual reality scenario using five different types of Visual Delegates to visualize three different perceptions of a virtual non-player patient. We tested for character assignment in a qualitative user study (N = 20). Our results can be used to decide more effectively what types of Visual Delegates can be used to convey perceptions of non-player characters.

Performing jumps in 3D video games from first-person perspective can be excessively challenging because of the difficulty of estimating distances and lack of precision. To address this problem, we created a jumping assistance tool called jumphair that dynamically visualizes distances between the player character and forthcoming edges before performing a jump. Our aim was to create a jumping assistance that helps players to enhance their distance perception for performing their jumps more successfully without being distracted by the tool. We integrated the jumphair into a self-developed video game called Couch Jumper and evaluated user performance and user experience in comparison to using a static icon in two user studies (each N = 30) on a 2D display and a 3D head-mounted display (HMD), respectively. On a 2D output device, results show that the jumphair can improve jumping performances without distracting players. The jumphair is also rated helpful and can be considered an accepted game element. When used on a 3D HMD, the jumphair did not yield advantages in terms of jumping performances in its current implementation but significantly reduced simulator sickness. Our studies have implications for game research and for interface design in first-person video games with jumping mechanics.

Visual effects are used in commercial video games to enhance the players’ perception without being investigated in terms of their actual impact on the players. In our work, we implemented five visual effects, namely vignetting, image noise, chromatic aberration, color grading, and blur and investigated their impact on the players’ perceived stress, presence, and simulator sickness. A user study (N = 6), conducted with a virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD), shows that these visual effects can intensify the players’ stress perception without negatively effecting perceived presence and without increasing simulator sickness.

To provide naturally walking in small virtual reality (VR) tracking spaces while preventing cables of head-mounted displays (HMDs) getting twisted, we developed Portals With A Twist (PorTwist), a redirected walking method using a portal metaphor. We compared PorTwist with a teleportation method in a 2m × 2.7m tracking space in a within-design user study (N = 34). PorTwist resulted in significantly longer natural walking distances and could prevent HMD cables from getting twisted while providing comparable levels of perceived presence and simulator sickness as teleportation. We further identified potential to improve usability in the future.

Practical, collaborative training of severe emergencies that occur too rarely within regular curricular training programs (e.g., anaphylactic shock in children patients) is difficult to realize. Multi-user virtual reality and serious game technologies can be used to provide collaborative training in dynamic settings [1], [2]. However, actual training effects seem to depend on a high presence and supportive usability [2]. EPICSAVE Lifesaving Decisions shows a novel approach that aims at further improving on these factors using an emotional scenario and collaborative game mechanics. We present a trailer video of a game sketch which creatively explores serious game design for collaborative virtual reality training systems. The game invites two paramedic trainees and one paramedic trainer into a dramatic scenario at a family theme park: A 5-year old child shows symptoms of anaphylactic shock. While the trainees begin their diagnostics procedures, a bystander, the girl's grandfather, intervenes and challenges the players' authority. Our research explores how VR game mechanics, i.e., optional narrative, authority skills and rewards, mini games, and interactive virtual characters may extend training quality and user experience over pure VR training simulations. The video exemplifies a concept that extends prior developments of a multi-user VR training simulation setup presented in [2], [3].

This paper proposes and evaluates two novel visual effects that can be applied to Virtual Reality (VR) applications to reduce VR sickness with head-mounted displays (HMD). Unlike other techniques that pursue the same goal, our approach allows a user to move continuously through a virtual environment without reducing the perceived field of view (FOV). A within-design study with 18 users compares reported sickness between the two effects and baseline. The results show lower means of sickness in the two novel effects; however, the difference is not statistically significant across all users, replicating large variety in individual reactions found in previous studies. In summary, reducing optical flow in peripheral vision is a promising approach. Future potential lies in adjusting visual effect parameters to maximize impact for large user groups.

We present a multi-user virtual reality (VR) setup that aims at providing novel training tools for paramedics that enhances current learning methods. The hardware setup consists of a two-user full-scale VR environment with head-mounted displays for two interactive trainees and one additional desktop pc for one trainer participant. The software provides a connected multi-user environment, showcasing a paramedic emergency simulation with focus on anaphylactic shock, a representative scenario for critical medical cases that happen too rare to eventually occur within a regular curricular term of vocational training. The prototype offers hands-on experience on multi-user VR in an applied scenario, generating discussion around current state and future development concerning three important research areas: (a) user navigation, (b) interaction, (c) level of visual abstraction, and (d) level of task abstraction.