User comfort in VR: player parameters
In traditional game design, the shape and size of the player’s body are always constant. Having constant character parameters, you can easily create levels based on them and plan interactivity, as well as rules of interaction with the world. However, from the very moment of the appearance of virtual reality of room size, this approach is not applicable.
"Room" VR turns the equation on its head. Now the size of the player - one of the most volatile components of the game. From the point of view of mechanics, this does not cause major problems, because most often we can get around this detail and just be more attentive to the design of levels. But in the "room" VR there is a new, unique challenge - ensuring the comfort of the player.
Previously, management was created in such a way that it was intuitive and comfortable for the player. Often it was possible to reassign keys so that players could customize the control system as they wish. But game designers rarely care about the chair in which the player sits, or the angle at which his hands are placed on the keyboard. Caring for ergonomics is usually a lot of jobs, it reduces the likelihood of injury and stress, increasing comfort. All of these factors should now be considered by VR developers.
The developers of indoor-style VR games should prevent players from injuring themselves by using borders, free playing spaces, and taking into account common sense. But without thoughtful design, games can certainly cause stress or be uncomfortable. Room systems are highly dependent on the size of the players, which can vary in large ranges. Take, for example, a simple riddle with a high object suspended. The designer expects the player to find him and throw the object to knock him down. Short-size players may have difficulty finding an object due to a different angle of visibility; it may be more difficult for them to find a good angle for a throw. They may also feel discomfort, lifting their heads too high. The average player will have no problems in this case, the level will most likely be calculated on him. But it may turn out that a tall player is able to just reach out and pick up an object with his hand, greatly simplifying the solution of the problem. At the same time, if the object is low, then high players may have difficulty interacting with it.
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I encountered such problems in my latest VR project. The game consisted in the simple management of resources, the players had to create an island and balance it in such a way as to avoid the pollution caused by the gradually increasing population.
I completed most of the original design by setting the heights in a way that was convenient for me. However, when testing, we found that everyone had a different relationship with height: some testers were too high, others were too low. To solve this problem, we measured the height of the player at the beginning of the game and adjusted the height of the island relative to the player. So we achieved a more comfortable gameplay, causing the user less stress.
We have to admit that this is a very specific problem, because the game took place on a surface resembling the surface of a table (as seen in the screenshot above), and it was very easy to adjust, but similar principles should be applied to the scale of the whole world, if justified.
Of course, we can develop this idea, and try to tie the gameplay to the player's parameters even more strongly.
Using the math and fundamentals of human anatomy, we can get a staggering amount of information. The approach will be the same as the artists used for some time: human bodies have a lot in common in anatomical relationships. In particular, our anatomy usually corresponds to the golden section. The golden ratio is the ratio between two quantities (we denote them as “A” and “B”), satisfying the following equality:
Where B is part A.
For our purposes, we simplify the equation to the following:
This relationship is important in the human body, because it is used in its key parts (see figure below).
All dimensions shown above are derived from each other. From left to right, we can find the next size, simply by taking the previous one and multiplying it by 0.618. To demonstrate this, I have collected several examples for comparison.
I readily admit that this is not the most accurate data set, just one example of hastily made measurements. However, it shows the relative accuracy of the calculations.
The margin of error is quite significant, but, more importantly, all dimensions are found only by one dimension of the user's height. They can be easily improved by measuring other player parameters. In the gameplay, you can embed calibration procedures in the same way as is done in the training levels of ordinary games. In this case, we will be able to approximately measure the parameters of the player and carefully adjust the gameplay for them, changing the size of the level so that they are more comfortable.
In addition, with the help of this system we will be able to realize interesting possibilities related to limitations and physical animation.
The basis of this is a simple theory. With the growing popularity of VR room format, developers will have to strive to better match players with different parameters, thus increasing the comfort of the game. “Indoor” virtual reality provides an unprecedented level of immersion, and in order to preserve it during the game, we need to guarantee players as much comfort as possible.
"Room" VR turns the equation on its head. Now the size of the player - one of the most volatile components of the game. From the point of view of mechanics, this does not cause major problems, because most often we can get around this detail and just be more attentive to the design of levels. But in the "room" VR there is a new, unique challenge - ensuring the comfort of the player.
Previously, management was created in such a way that it was intuitive and comfortable for the player. Often it was possible to reassign keys so that players could customize the control system as they wish. But game designers rarely care about the chair in which the player sits, or the angle at which his hands are placed on the keyboard. Caring for ergonomics is usually a lot of jobs, it reduces the likelihood of injury and stress, increasing comfort. All of these factors should now be considered by VR developers.
The developers of indoor-style VR games should prevent players from injuring themselves by using borders, free playing spaces, and taking into account common sense. But without thoughtful design, games can certainly cause stress or be uncomfortable. Room systems are highly dependent on the size of the players, which can vary in large ranges. Take, for example, a simple riddle with a high object suspended. The designer expects the player to find him and throw the object to knock him down. Short-size players may have difficulty finding an object due to a different angle of visibility; it may be more difficult for them to find a good angle for a throw. They may also feel discomfort, lifting their heads too high. The average player will have no problems in this case, the level will most likely be calculated on him. But it may turn out that a tall player is able to just reach out and pick up an object with his hand, greatly simplifying the solution of the problem. At the same time, if the object is low, then high players may have difficulty interacting with it.
')
I encountered such problems in my latest VR project. The game consisted in the simple management of resources, the players had to create an island and balance it in such a way as to avoid the pollution caused by the gradually increasing population.
I completed most of the original design by setting the heights in a way that was convenient for me. However, when testing, we found that everyone had a different relationship with height: some testers were too high, others were too low. To solve this problem, we measured the height of the player at the beginning of the game and adjusted the height of the island relative to the player. So we achieved a more comfortable gameplay, causing the user less stress.
We have to admit that this is a very specific problem, because the game took place on a surface resembling the surface of a table (as seen in the screenshot above), and it was very easy to adjust, but similar principles should be applied to the scale of the whole world, if justified.
Of course, we can develop this idea, and try to tie the gameplay to the player's parameters even more strongly.
Using the math and fundamentals of human anatomy, we can get a staggering amount of information. The approach will be the same as the artists used for some time: human bodies have a lot in common in anatomical relationships. In particular, our anatomy usually corresponds to the golden section. The golden ratio is the ratio between two quantities (we denote them as “A” and “B”), satisfying the following equality:
Where B is part A.
For our purposes, we simplify the equation to the following:
This relationship is important in the human body, because it is used in its key parts (see figure below).
All dimensions shown above are derived from each other. From left to right, we can find the next size, simply by taking the previous one and multiplying it by 0.618. To demonstrate this, I have collected several examples for comparison.
| The size | Estimated (previous line * 0,618) | Valid | Difference (valid - calculated) |
| Growth | - | 165 | - |
| From crown to fingertips | 101.98 | 104 | +2.02 |
| From crown to elbow | 63.02 | 64 | +0.98 |
| Between the shoulders | 38.95 | 40 | +1.05 |
| Forearm | 38.95 | 43 | +4.05 |
| Shin | 38.95 | 41 | +2.05 |
| From crown to chest | 38.95 | 43 | +4.05 |
| Head size | 24.07 | 23 | -1.07 |
I readily admit that this is not the most accurate data set, just one example of hastily made measurements. However, it shows the relative accuracy of the calculations.
The margin of error is quite significant, but, more importantly, all dimensions are found only by one dimension of the user's height. They can be easily improved by measuring other player parameters. In the gameplay, you can embed calibration procedures in the same way as is done in the training levels of ordinary games. In this case, we will be able to approximately measure the parameters of the player and carefully adjust the gameplay for them, changing the size of the level so that they are more comfortable.
In addition, with the help of this system we will be able to realize interesting possibilities related to limitations and physical animation.
The basis of this is a simple theory. With the growing popularity of VR room format, developers will have to strive to better match players with different parameters, thus increasing the comfort of the game. “Indoor” virtual reality provides an unprecedented level of immersion, and in order to preserve it during the game, we need to guarantee players as much comfort as possible.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/320448/
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