Evaluating the User Experience and Usability of Virtual Reality Locomotion Techniques: An Empirical Comparison

Abstract

Virtual reality technology has recently had a revival with new VR-hardware being introduced to the consumer market. This can be considered a turning point in the field as it has now become more accessible and affordable to the public. Since this revival, VR-technology has been subject to multiple HCI studies, where also VR locomotion techniques have been examined. However, a majority of these studies emphasize constructive research problems with a focus on understanding the technical aspects of the interaction. New and novel VR locomotion techniques are constructed without any empirical evaluation of the human aspects to support this work. Without the knowledge of already existing issues with the interaction, there is a research gap in the current field of VR locomotion studies. To fill this research gap, we examined and compared three of the currently prevalent VR locomotion techniques; joystick, teleportation and "walk in place" with a focus on the user experience and usability. We examined these techniques through an empirical study followed by a Game Experience Questionnaire, questionnaire for the System Usability Scale and semi-structured interviews. This provided useful data to be analyzed and compared to determine which UX aspects were considered important, and how the usability was perceived for each technique. Based on the results, a few issues related to the interaction was identified. Taking these issues into consideration, we propose some design implications to address the current issues. This can be a contribution to improve the problem-solving capacity in the research field of VR to drive the field forward and support new and better constructive work in the future.