This paper presents the results of a subjective study aimed at assessing different locomotion (may also be referred to as navigation) techniques in virtual reality environments. We implemented a simple virtual environment in which participants were asked to assess the following four techniques using the HTC Vive platform: teleportation, controller movement, controller movement with tunneling vision, and human joystick. A total of 29 participants took part in the study and rated perceived level of immersion, physical discomfort, and overall Quality of Experience for all tested locomotion techniques. Moreover, participants indicated whether they needed a break after a specific test due to physical discomfort. The results indicate that teleportation yields overall highest QoE and lowest discomfort.

Uncomfortable sensations that arise during virtual reality (VR) use have always been among the industry’s biggest challenges. While certain VR-induced effects, such as cybersickness, have garnered a lot of interest from academia and industry over the years, others have been overlooked and underresearched. Recently, the research community has been calling for more holistic approaches to studying the issue of VR discomfort. Focusing on active VR gaming, our article presents the results of two user studies with a total of 40 participants. Incorporating state-of-the-art VR-specific measures (the Simulation Task Load Index—SIM-TLX, Cybersickness Questionnaire—CSQ, Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire—VRSQ) into our methodology, we examined workload, musculoskeletal discomfort, device-related discomfort, cybersickness, and changes in reaction time following VR gameplay. Using a set of six different active VR games (three per study), we attempted to quantify and compare the prevalence and intensity of VR-induced symptoms across different genres and game mechanics. Varying between individuals, as well as games, the diverse symptoms reported in our study highlight the importance of including measures of VR-induced effects other than cybersickness into VR gaming user studies, while questioning the suitability of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ)—arguably the most prevalent measure of VR discomfort in the field—for use with active VR gaming scenarios.

In broad terms, UX design is concerned with minimizing the workload neccessary for the user to interact with the system. In gaming, however, the system is supposed to provide a level of challenge to keep the player entertained, along with offering specific tools and mechanisms of interaction that are not commonly found across other use-cases. When talking about virtual reality (VR), numerous sources have discussed the optimization of interaction techniques, but there is a gap in research on the subject of gaming-specific VR interaction design, which we aimed to address in this paper. Focusing on the diversity of VR gaming, we introduced the term “interaction mechanics” and provided a taxonomy of interaction mechanics based on several criteria. Based on this taxonomy, we highlighted multiple target-related, task-related, and tool-related parameters that may influence the quality of interaction mechanics. Lastly, we presented the INTERACT framework, which was created to serve as a conceptual foundation for creating applications to be used as tools for user research, and used it to design an application aimed at facilitating the evaluation of interaction mechanics quality.

While the topic of investigating user experience with immersive services, such as Social Virtual Reality (VR), is starting to gain traction in the research community, the unique case of multiplayer VR games requires a more specific approach. Attempts to investigate user experiences with this complex, multidimensional service are hindered by the absence of specific standards and guidelines going beyond what we know about non-immersive gaming. In this article, we present the results of a user study (N = 32) exploring participants’ experience of playing two competitive VR games of different genres (shooter, sports game), as we focus on three distinct facets of multiplayer VR gaming—network, interpersonal competitiveness, and social interaction. Furthermore, approaching the issue from the perspective of Quality of Experience researchers looking to conduct future user studies on the topic, we also present our findings as a way to shed light on factors that need further consideration, especially in the context of participant recruitment and methodology design, such as the choice of access network to be used for testing, and the issue of matchmaking study participants based on skill and prior relationship.