Long-Term Effects of User Expertise and Application Design on Collision Anxiety in VR Games

Research Background and Problem

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?
  With the development of virtual reality (VR) technology, collision anxiety (CA) caused by the use of head-mounted displays (HMDs) affects user experience and may lead to injuries. However, research on CA remains limited, especially regarding its relationship with users' VR proficiency and application design.

• Why is this issue important?
  VR users' subjective sense of safety can be diminished in highly immersive environments, undermining the overall user experience and increasing the risk of injury. More importantly, as VR devices become more widespread, addressing safety issues has become critical.

• Research motivation and related work:
  The motivation for this study is to understand how various factors, such as player skill levels and specific game designs, influence CA. Previous research has shown that environmental mismatches and complex movement designs can trigger collision anxiety, but studies on the long-term effects of VR use are still in their infancy. This study aims to fill this research gap and provide guidance for designing safer VR applications.

Solution

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?
  The authors conducted a longitudinal study to explore the long-term effects of players' VR expertise and application design on CA. Participants played VR games twice a week for six weeks and completed related questionnaires to assess CA, immersion, and presence.

• What are the innovative aspects of this solution?

  • The use of a specially designed Collision Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) as a measurement tool.
  • The first systematic study of the mechanisms behind CA, linking it to behavioral changes after long-term VR use.
  • The proposal of design guidelines related to application design to help reduce CA risks.

• Implementation steps:

  1. Participants played five commercial VR games, completing a total of 154 game sessions.
  2. Questionnaires were used to measure collision anxiety, player experience (PXI), and presence in the virtual environment (IPQ).
  3. Different games were categorized and rated based on environmental design factors such as player movement scale, speed, and body rotation to evaluate the impact of design.

Research Findings

• What specific findings were achieved?

  1. Collision anxiety decreased as participants gained more VR experience, but the decline was not linear.
  2. Game design (e.g., fast-paced, large-scale movement scenarios) could significantly influence CA, with design factors having a greater impact on CA than users' VR proficiency.
  3. Scene changes and the lack of clear visual reference points led to a decline in users' spatial orientation in the real world, exacerbating collision anxiety.

• What advantages does this solution have compared to existing ones?
  By systematizing CA as a measurable variable, the study provides specific design guidelines to better design VR applications that are "safe yet immersive," balancing player experience with safety.

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?

  • Different VR games exhibited significant differences in CA. For example, Superhot, due to its frequent scene changes and high movement demands, had significantly higher CA scores than the relatively static Angry Birds VR.
  • Players' CA decreased significantly in the initial stages but fluctuated due to scene changes and the introduction of new environments.
  • Protective gear and familiarity with the space significantly alleviated collision anxiety, but the non-linear effects suggest the need for more complex research models.

• Limitations and future directions:

  • Limitations:
    1. Long-term studies face challenges such as participant dropout, environmental changes, and recall bias.
    2. Data collection relied on post-experience self-reports, potentially missing subtle short-term dynamic changes.
    3. Since the study was primarily conducted in a laboratory setting, users might face different challenges in real home environments.
  • Future directions:
    1. Further research on the long-term impact of real collisions on subjective anxiety and VR experiences.
    2. Exploration of the relationship between users' spatial orientation abilities in different virtual environments and their sense of immersion.
    3. Improvement of real-time feedback and safety systems through monitoring scene changes and user behavior in real time.

Conclusion

This study is the first to systematically conduct a longitudinal analysis of collision anxiety among VR users, revealing how specific factors related to movement and orientation in application design influence user experience and safety. Through design recommendations, the authors propose effective methods to balance dynamic VR game design with users' subjective sense of safety, while laying the groundwork for foundational research on CA as a disruptive variable. These findings are significant for developing safer and more comfortable VR applications and provide clear directions and methodologies for future VR research.