Virtual reality (VR) technologies have opened new possibilities for creating engaging educational games. This paper presents a serious VR game that immerses players into the activities of lunar exploration missions in a virtual environment. We designed and implemented the VR game with the goal of increasing players’ interest in space science. The game motivates players to learn more about historical facts of space missions that astronauts performed on the Moon in the 1970s. We studied usability and engagement of the game through user experience in both VR and non-VR versions of the game. The experimental results show that the VR version improved their engagement and enhanced the interest of players in learning more about the events of lunar exploration.

GPUs can encounter memory capacity constraints, which pose challenges for achieving real-time rendering performance when processing large 3D models that exceed available memory. State-of-the-art out-of-core rendering frameworks have leveraged Level of Detail (LOD) and frame-to-frame coherence data management techniques to optimize memory usage and minimize CPU-to-GPU data transfer costs. However, the size of view-dependently selected data may still exceed GPU memory capacity, and data transfer remains the most significant bottleneck in overall performance costs. To address these, we introduce a new GPU out-of-core rendering approach that includes a LOD selection method that takes into account both memory and coherence constraints and a parallel in-place GPU memory management algorithm that efficiently assembles the data of the current frame with GPU-resident data from the previous frame and transferred data. Our approach bounds memory usage and data transfer costs, prioritizes and schedules the transfer of essential data, incrementally refining the LOD over subsequent frames to converge toward the desired visual fidelity. Our parallel memory management algorithm consolidates frame-different and reusable data, dynamically reallocating GPU memory slots for efficient in-place operations. Hierarchical LOD representations remain a core component, and we emphasize their role in supporting adaptive data transfer and coherence management, characterized by a uniform depth and near-equal patch size at all levels. Our approach adapts seamlessly to scenarios with varying levels of coherence by balancing real-time performance with visual consistency. Experimental results demonstrate that our system achieves significant performance improvements, rendering scenes with billions of triangles in real-time, outperforming existing methods while maintaining consistent visual quality during dynamic interactions.

Incorporating virtual reality (VR) games into children’s physical activity routines offers an innovative way to promote exercise in a fun and engaging manner. By immersing children in captivating digital worlds that require physical movement to navigate, VR games transform daily sports activities into exciting adventures, as shown in Figure 1. Set within a vibrant cartoon environment, this game features a virtual exercise camp that captivates and draws children in, keeping them engaged and enthusiastic about participating in physical activities. We have crafted several mini-games inspired by various sports activities, each designed to be both fun and easy to learn. Adorable cartoon characters come to life to guide players through the gameplay, enhancing the interactive experience. This immersive approach entertains and encourages children to embrace exercise as a joyful part of their daily routine.