VR Locomotion Idea

Navigating around a new medium like VR requires a lot of trail and error, user playtests and so on.

Motion sickness from different movements is inevitable, for the fact that there will be a disconnect from the user’s mental model and the visual image translated to what they see. To reduce the problem of motion sickness, constrains can be embedded within the game mechanics to refrain users from turning around too much or too fast. Games such as Half Life: Alyx only allows the user to move in fixed directions at the start of the game. As they become more familiarized with the environment and the controls, the game then allows the user to move freely and get used to the motions. A way to keep the user within the comfort zone is to make sense of the user’s position while playing the game.

If the user is supposed to be standing/walking for most of the game, it would not make sense to implement movements that does not translate to their position, such as sliding, rotating, etc. This strains the user’s quick-wittiness to have their eyes track the horizon and focus their point of view.

In addition, allowing the user to see switch to a 3rd person’s POV could also help greatly to reduce the amount of stress on their vision. This way, they can also see their own body movements.

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