Category Archives: 2021/22S1 CS4350 VR-Locomotion

2021/22S1 CS4350 Game Dev Project – New ideas for Locomotion (translation and rotation) in VR which is comfortable (reduces VR sickness) for users.

VR Locomotion Ideas

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Locomotion based on In-Place Motion Sensing

When the user wants to move in the VR landscape, he or she will need to execute a specific physical action on the spot to do so. This could be something simple like a small movement of the right arm forward to move the right leg forward. This is pertaining to the Sensory Conflict Theory, where the aim is to try and minimize the conflict since now both the user’s mental model which knows that the arm moved, is matched by the movement in the VR landscape.

Reduce Motion Sickness using Sensory outputs

Since in the Sensory Conflict Theory, the user experiences motion sickness due to a mismatch in the senses and/ or mental model of the user, we could try to output some form of sensory feedback to the user when they walk, to try and fill in the gap.

For example, when the user moves a joystick to move the player in the VR landscape, whenever the player in the VR landscape steps on the ground, a small vibration could be sent to the user through the joystick, to simulate the feeling of actually stepping on the ground. This can be the attempt to bridge the gap in the sensory cues.

Reduce Motion Sickness using User Interface as a REST Frame

In usual 2D/ 3D games, the User Interface is usually fixed to the game screen.

In VR, we can try to do the same thing by having the User Interface fixed onto the user’s vision just like how it would usually be in a regular 2D/ 3D game. The User Interface can then act as a REST Frame for the user, since the User Interface elements can act as fixation points for the user during actual locomotion.

VR Locomotion by Pulling Handles

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Assume that we have 2 handles attached to the ceiling in front. Each hand can reach a handle and pull it to you. When your left hand pull the handle your right foot will move forward a grid. If you release a handle it will go back to its origin position pending for the next operation. So by pulling a handle, release it while pulling the other, you can move forward. And if you pull the 2 handles together, you will jump for one grid.

An extension of VR Locomotion in Budget Cuts

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Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/400940/Budget_Cuts/

Locomotion in Budget Cuts

Teleportation is a very common form of locomotion in VR games that minimises motion sickness, but most of the time it is used solely for that purpose and as such may seem gimmicky, out of place, and takes away from immersion and gameplay. One game that avoids this common pitfall very well is Budget Cuts, in which you lob a physics projectile to a target location, get to preview that location through a small portal, and can choose exactly when you want to teleport to that location by the press of a button (see above trailer). This is especially apt in a stealth game as it allows you to scout the location before teleporting to it, and the physics projectile itself is very fun to play with as well.

Now you’re thinking with portals

To take this concept one step further, we can take inspiration from the classic first-person puzzle platformer Portal. Instead of just a small portal that you can peer through, we can create a portal that is large enough for the player to physically pass through. This opens up a world of possibilities, such as moving objects or even shooting/combat through the portal. The best part is, if done a certain way, we do not have to worry about the bounding box as this will only require the player to move back and forth between 2 points in real life! Although this might not be the aptest form of locomotion for Budget Cuts, this will be a very fun mechanic to see in other genres such as puzzle, platformer, and shooting games.

tldr

walk thru a portal 🌀

VR Locomotion ideas

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Perhaps one way we can address the issue of Virtual Reality locomotion would be to implement a type of shoe that removes all forms of movement forward. As the player moves their legs forward, the shoes will automatically roll the player’s feet backwards, acting as a form of wearable treadmill. However, one possible disadvantage of using these shoes would be that the player might not be able to take fast steps.