Player performance with different input devices in virtual reality first-person shooter games

First-person shooter (FPS) games are a competitive game genre. Players of these games commonly try to maximize their performance through using a better input device. Numerous previous studies have analyzed different game controllers (see e.g., [1]). Tracked input devices such as the Hydra offer some advantages over desktop input devices in VR FPS games. We thus hypothesize that VR controllers will offer substantially better performance than both the mouse and gamepad in first-person shooter targeting, due to the improved naturalness of control. Our study compared 3D selection performance between the mouse, 3D tracker, and game controller in a head-mounted display VR context

Viewpoint snapping to reduce cybersickness in virtual reality

Cybersickness in virtual reality (VR) is an on-going problem, despite recent advances in technology. In this paper, we propose a method for reducing the likelihood of cybersickness onset when using stationary (e.g., seated) VR setups. Our approach relies on reducing optic flow via inconsistent displacement - the viewpoint is "snapped" during fast movement that would otherwise induce cybersickness. We compared our technique, which we call viewpoint snapping, to a control condition without viewpoint snapping, in a custom-developed VR first-person shooter game. We measured participant cybersickness levels via the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), and user reported levels of nausea, presence, and objective error rate. Overall, our results indicate that viewpoint snapping significantly reduced SSQ reported cybersickness levels by about 40% and resulted in a reduction in participant nausea levels, especially with longer VR exposure. Presence levels and error rate were not significantly different between the viewpoint snapping and the control condition