Development and evaluation of a virtual reality adventure game for the virtualizer

Abstract

This thesis describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a virtual reality (VR) adventure game for the Virtualizer, the PrioVR and the Oculus Rift. First an overview is given about the state-of-the art in terms of head-mounted displays (HMDs), motion capture suits, game motion controllers and technologies for walking in virtual reality. Further, an overview is given about already developed VR games. Cybersickness is a major problem in VR games. There are three theories that try to explain the process of becoming cybersick, which are described in this thesis. Further, factors that can influence the possibility of getting cybersick are mentioned and approaches that can reduce the occurrence of cybersickness are described. In VR it is necessary to be able to interact in the virtual world like in the real world as well as seeing your own virtual body that follows your real-world movements to create a feeling of presence in the virtual world. Recent technologies enable this kind of interaction for the casual player at home. Up to now, no game has been developed that uses the combination of the Oculus Rift, the PrioVR and the Virtualizer. Therefore this thesis describes the development of a VR game for these technologies. User tests were conducted to find out about how good the interaction with these technologies is working and if the participants get cybersick. Further, design guidelines are discussed and technical problems that occurred during the user tests are described.