In order to evaluate the locomotion technique, I conducted a series of tests with our course participants that were familiar with the usage of virtual reality techniques and other people, that have not used VR technology in any form before. I discovered a discrepancy in the ease of use for these two groups. The group non familiar with this technology needed more attempts to get familiar with the haptic and the general environment. This can be seen in the times as well. One participant, who used an Oculus for the first time needed for the first time sector 61 seconds, whereas participants more familiar with the VR-Gear could usually make it in around half the time
| Participant | Average | |
|---|---|---|
| Total time: | 134 64 90 93 | 96 |
| Sector 1: | 61 27 35 38.6 | 41 |
| Sector 2: | 48 21 36 31 | 34 |
| Sector 3: | 25 16 19 21 | 20.25 |
Furthermore I observed in the runs, that the it is difficult to be fast at the same time and have precise steering. The inertia from the push makes it necessary to brake down when one wants to move to the other side of the street to collect coins. The only possibility is to brake down drastically and then move the head over to the other side and turn there, what massively slows down the locomotion.
| Participant | Average | |
|---|---|---|
| Total time: | 134 64 90 93 | 96 |
| Sector 1: | 61 27 35 38.6 | 41 |
| Sector 2: | 48 21 36 31 | 34 |
| Sector 3: | 25 16 19 21 | 20.25 |
| Coins Total | 28 15 57 53 | 41 |
| Accuracy | 0.37 0.2 0.77 0.72 | 0.51 |
This feedback can be read from the data as well. It shows, that -if you are a bit familiar with the steering- the higher your accuracy, the slower your time.
In the first version of the app, there had been a bug, such that there was only one eye rendering. Therefore for some of the first participants, there was a downgrade in terms of the presence and the fun feeling. Furthermore, the fact, that one eye was flashing did not cause classical simulator sickness, but also some kind of feeling uncomfortable. With the bug fixed, the responses got better.
| Participant | Average | |
|---|---|---|
| Total time: | 134 64 90 93 | 96 |
| Sector 1: | 61 27 35 38.6 | 41 |
| Sector 2: | 48 21 36 31 | 34 |
| Sector 3: | 25 16 19 21 | 20.25 |
| Coins Total | 28 15 57 53 | 41 |
| Accuracy | 0.37 0.2 0.77 0.72 | 0.51 |
| Presence | 7 5 6 7 | 6.4 |
| Sickness | 0 0 2 2 | 1.4 |
But even with the flashing eye, the results for the cyber-sickness score were surprisingly good, even though it is a technique with constant accelerating and braking.
| Participant | Average | |
|---|---|---|
| Total time: | 134 64 90 93 | 96 |
| Sector 1: | 61 27 35 38.6 | 41 |
| Sector 2: | 48 21 36 31 | 34 |
| Sector 3: | 25 16 19 21 | 20.25 |
| Coins Total | 28 15 57 53 | 41 |
| Accuracy | 0.37 0.2 0.77 0.72 | 0.51 |
| Fun | 7 4 6 8 9 | 6.8 |
We cannot see any proportional relation between the Fun and the question whether someone is slow…. So in a way, it is perfect from Meta’s point of view. It is an application 100% in line for their Super-Bowl commercial. Even if you are slow and unsuccessful, you can still feel good and have fun in the metaverse.