What does it feel like to crawl through the world as a scorpion or to fly like a bird? Researchers from North Rhine-Westphalia see the answer in animal VR games.
After the first Cows equipped with VR glasses virtual reality has now also entered the animal world. A German research team is taking the opposite approach and wants to elevate VR games to an animalistic level. According to them, virtual immersion in non-humanoid avatars should have great potential. VR titles like Eagle Flight already make use of such game elements, but so far they remain a rarity. That is soon to change.
Humans as VR animals
In their study, the scientists demonstrated a particularly appealing illusion of virtual body swapping when playing animals in VR. According to the study, players experience an extraordinary amount of fun when they put themselves in the body of an animal.
The team headed by computer scientist Andrey Krekhov exploring non-human abilities and additional body parts. There is also the question of how far a player avatar can move away from a humanoid form without jeopardising immersion.
The computer scientists and media scholars at the University of Duisburg-Essen developed various animal VR games for their study. With the Unity 3D engine, they created game scenarios in which they placed test subjects in the virtual bodies of scorpions, rhinos or birds.
Using the physical abilities of the respective animal, the players freed themselves from a room or cage. To do this, the testers moved the additional body parts such as horns or wings and even assumed the animal body posture. The VR goggles used are an HTC Vive Pro including tracking system.
Animal VR gaming fun through perspective change
A total of 32 male and female students and employees of the university took part in the experiment. The test persons found the experience consistently positive and stated that they felt part of the virtual world. In particular, the novel physical experience and the non-humanoid perspectives were fun for the players, according to their own statements.
Krekhov and his colleagues concluded that completely new game mechanics could be implemented in VR games through animal avatars. They even consider a new animal genre possible.
Crawling and flying with VR glasses should lead to a credible and novel gaming experience. The scientists also want to use their research results to promote more empathy towards animals. The animal virtual reality experience is intended to help people better understand animal behaviour.
Source: Mixed
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