Our fast-paced technological advancements continue to revolutionize entertainment and social connection. One of these is the virtual reality systems which offer a wide range of opportunities for interaction and locomotion. However, undesirable physical sensitivities experienced during VR gaming serve as barriers to utilizing the potential benefit offered by this medium.
While the significant role of VR has expanded in various fields, the discomforts due to cybersickness emerged as an important challenge to overcome.
The Truth About Cybersickness
Early attempts were made during the 1990s to introduce virtual reality to the general public, but it was not widely accepted due to bad visuals and difficulty with controls. After almost three decades, VR has made a comeback, and this time, it has gained popularity and a significant role in medicine, education, and gaming, among others.
One of the main advantages of VR is creating a digital environment that appears real as the user gets immersed in the active experience. However, users are challenged to acquire cybersickness due to conflicts in gathering sensory information.
Cybersickness is a form of motion sickness experienced by an individual after getting immersed in virtual reality programs. Basically, it has something to do with problems in orientation, where a person's brain receives contradictory information from the senses. When a person experiences cybersickness, information about bodily movement is given from visual signals, although there is no actual movement during the immersion. These differences, known as visual-vestibular conflicts, do not match the natural internal model of the human central nervous system.
Common symptoms of cybersickness include eye strain, nausea, and disorientation. Some people can also experience headaches, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue. According to Frontiers, about 20% - 95% of VR users experience some form of cybersickness, depending on their level of immersion.
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Decoding the Mystery of Cybersickness
Sensory conflict serves as the leading theory in explaining the nature of cybersickness. However, this theory is criticized for failing to explain individual differences in susceptibility to discomfort.
To address this issue, a team of researchers from the University of Waterloo conducted a study of 31 participants regarding their subjective visual vertical or the perception of the orientation of vertical lines. Participants were assessed before and after playing a low-intensity and a high-intensity VR game.
After being exposed to VR games, the individuals who showed the largest change in the subjective visual vertical were the ones who experienced less motion sickness. Meanwhile, no significant differences were observed between male and female participants.
In another study published by ScienceDirect, it was revealed that other causes that trigger physical discomfort vary according to short-term or long-term VR exposures. Subjects with less experience with VR were found to be more prone to discomfort.
As experts understand the connection between subjective vertical visuals and the severity of cybersickness, it can lead to the development of approaches that can lessen the impact of this type of discomfort. Addressing the issue of cybersickness is a critical factor that must be considered by designers in developing comfortable VR experiences.
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