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Interacting through simulator vs headset

While it is useful to use an on-screen simulation during the building of such an environment, it falls short of evaluating the work through a headset in a number of ways, such as creating cognitive and physical barriers, lacking spatial experience, lacking accurate assessment of experience, and

The interaction simulator provides instant access to the environment, allowing the user to move the virtual handsets using keys, grab and throw objects and move the view around in any direction. However, every one of these moves provide cognitive and physical constraints that a VR headset experience would not. For example, moving toward an object, reaching for it and picking it up demands a series of carefully timed keystrokes whereas such a motion would be undertaken quite naturally in a VR headset, seemingly without thinking, as it replicates similar body motions to real life.

A very big differentiator is that of spatial experience. When viewing on-screen we see a flattened representation of the environment, simulating three-dimensions as we are able to pivot the direction of gaze via keystrokes. But we still feel separated from the environment. The VR headset however provides an immersive experience, where, despite being cognitive of the environment’s artificiality we respond bodily and emotionally as if we were actually there. This means we get sensations from objects, spaces, and environments similar to how we would in real life, react to fear-inducing situations such as heights, projectiles and potential fall-traps.

Further, when using a VR headset to evaluate the environment while still developing it, the sensation of being there can lead to a more accurate evaluation of the final experience, and therefore is likely to lead to environments that take greater advantage of the particular affordances of a three-dimensional immersive environment. For instance, when using a VR headset during the building of my environment I found the sensation of holding the spaceboard when it starts to defy gravity (after plugging in the powerpack) felt very interesting. It seemed to come to life and pull away from the hands, despite the fact that there was no actual tactile sensation. This is not something I would have discovered -or expected- if evaluating only using the simulator. It was also intriguing to see what it would feel like to stand on the board and get it to rise and fall, a sensation that would be lost being just on-screen.

Finally, the immersiveness of the headset also helps identify what objects, interactions and environments may be unnecessary for the experience. I noticed that I would often create relatively flat layouts when working on-screen, only to consider more efficient, circular layouts when viewing them through the headset. My original build for instance, had a line of plants near the corner to act as a visual border or backdrop, only to find in the headset, viewing from a higher angle, they had no value at all and only added to the clutter. When positioned at further distances, they acted to soften the background and give a sort of distant barrier. Without a sense of space, we have less sense of what be visually cluttered or disordered, or what might be easy to see or find to a viewer, and it is hard to predict the visual perceptions we have when immersed in the space.