What do I like about it?

Many VR applications uses human sensory to provide immersion for e.g. sight and touch. However, there can be also other ways to allow users to feel that they are present in the VR experience. One of which is the use of emotions and more specifically, the use of fear. Fear is especially effective as it is common that fear overwhelms the user and their perception of reality. It is true even for real life situations like going to haunted houses at theme parks. Even though we know that things are staged, we can’t help but still experience excitement and fear.

What features can be improved and how?

There were a few improvements that can be made from the users’ feedback in the video. One of the users noted that “I have the same setup in the room I am in now”. This can be very effectively in providing presence to the user. It would be good if the VR game can capture the surroundings before the game and provide the in-game experience of the player walking through some place familiar. The game can also have popular locations so that the user will associate the location with the real world and be truly immersed.

Another thing that can be improved on is the controls. As it is a horror game, users are likely to run away in real life. Below shows a video of an average consumer playing the game. Even though she was holding a controller, she constantly moves from her position and her family had to hold her in case she knocks into her furniture. This can be solved with an omni-direction threadmill which is probably too expensive currently. Apart from the VR headset itself, there should also be improvements in other aspects supporting the VR experience.

Personally, I also feel that the VR headset is bulky and therefore, would affect the user experience. To have a better VR experience and immersion in the game, the user should feel comfortable, and the weight of the headset should not affect the touch (stress on head due to weigh of headset). Like Elon Musk said, for now, I do not see users strapping on to VR headsets for a long period of time because it looks uncomfortable and the weight of the headset would probably cause some level of neck ache. Luckily, there are active development of lighter headsets which include the HTC flow.

For now, I feel that the horror genre provides the most presence for the user and I would like to research more about using emotions to provide the user with the same level of presence in the VR other than using fear. The use of other emotions like sadness, anger and joy are probably more difficult to invoke the same experience as fear but they are worth looking into to give users other VR experiences.