Impact of the motion and visual complexity of the background on players' performance in video game-like displays

The development of virtual healing environment in VR platform

The purpose of this research is to build a healing environment that can be experienced through virtual reality (VR) to reduce stress levels of the user because of the lengthy period of COVID-19 pandemic that forced people to stay at home. The healing environment is created based on several theories on the principles of Healing Environments related to Architectural design. And as for the development of the simulation software, it is using the method of Extreme Programming that is based on Agile principle that combined with Architectural design flow. The VR is targeted to run optimally in low-end devices with cardboard and common Bluetooth controller so that it can be accessed inclusively. The evaluation is conducted using a user acceptance test with expert judgment and survey to 32 respondents. The findings are that they enjoyed the simulation because of the guidance is clear and the virtual environment looks more real compared to others that looks cartoonish.

Searching in clutter: Visual behavior and performance of expert action video game players

Searching for targets among distractors in visual scenes can be more difficult due to the presence of clutter. However, studies in various domains have shown differentiated effects according to the expertise of the searcher. The present study extended these findings to the domain of action video games expertise. 58 participants, split in 2 groups (action video game players and non-action video game players) searched for targets in visual scenes under two clutter conditions (uncluttered and high clutter). Reaction times and accuracy served as measures of performance, and the visual behavior was assessed using the number and duration of eye fixations. Our findings suggest that visual clutter has a negative influence on performance and alters the visual behavior during visual search in action video game scenes. Our results also suggest that expert action video game players might use different visual strategies to cope with clutter, leading however to no performance benefits.

Allocating less attention to central vision during vection is correlated with less motion sickness

Visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) is a common discomfort response associated with vection-provoking stimuli. It has been suggested that susceptibility to VIMS depends on the ability to regulate visual performance during vection. To test this, 29 participants, with VIMS susceptibility assessed by Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire, were recruited to undergo three series of sustained attention to response tests (SARTs) while watching dot pattern stimuli known to provoke roll-vection. In general, SARTs performance was impaired in the central visual field (CVF), but improved in peripheral visual field (PVF), suggesting the reallocation of attention during vection. Moreover, VIMS susceptibility was negatively correlated with the effect sizes, suggesting that participants who were less susceptible to VIMS showed better performance in attention re-allocation. Finally, when trained to re-allocation attention from the CVF to the PVF, participants experienced more stable vection. Findings provide a better understanding of VIMS and shed light on possible preventive measures. Practitioner Summary: Allocating less visual attention to central visual field during visual motion stimulation is associated with stronger vection and higher resistance to motion sickness. Virtual reality application designers may utilise the location of visual tasks to strengthen and stabilise vection, while reducing the potential of visually induced motion sickness.

Visually induced motion sickness when viewing visual oscillations of different frequencies along the fore-and-aft axis: keeping velocity versus amplitude constant

Exposure to visual oscillations (VOs) can lead to visually induced motion sickness (VIMS). The level of VIMS among viewers has been shown to vary when the frequency of the VOs is changed either by manipulating their amplitude or velocity. The present study investigates whether the level of VIMS would change if we keep the root mean square (rms) velocity or amplitude of VOs constant while manipulating the VO frequency. A total of 25 individuals were exposed to random-dot and checkerboard VOs along the fore-and-aft axis in two experiments. Changing the amplitude (or frequency) of VOs while keeping the rms velocity constant did not affect the level of VIMS; however, increasing the rms velocity (or frequency) of VOs while keeping the amplitude constant made VIMS significantly worse. Practitioner Summary: Exposure to VOs of the same frequency can cause different levels of nausea depending on the combination of oscillation amplitude and velocity. Results suggest an opportunity for game designers to reduce symptoms of game sickness by using the correct combinations of velocity and amplitude of the visual motions.

Impairment of shooting performance by background complexity and motion

In many visual displays such as virtual environments, human tasks involve objects superimposed on both complex and moving backgrounds. However, most studies investigated the influence of background complexity or background motion in isolation. Two experiments were designed to investigate the joint influences of background complexity and lateral motion on a simple shooting task typical of video games. Participants had to perform the task on the moving and static versions of backgrounds of three levels of complexity, while their eye movements were recorded. The backgrounds displayed either an abstract (Experiment 1) or a naturalistic (Experiment 2) virtual environment. The results showed that performance was impaired by background motion in both experiments. The effects of motion and complexity were additive for the abstract background and multiplicative for the naturalistic background. Eye movement recordings showed that performance impairments reflected at least in part the impact of the background visual features on gaze control.