Author(s)

Yulong Xiao

Corresponding Author

Yulong Xiao

Abstract

The virtual reality (VR) roller coaster is a popular research project since VR equipment has gradually improved. Researchers have used the VR roller coaster to test various physical reactions of users. Narrative has always been an essential element for games. In this project, the author combined narrative and VR roller coaster, using the Unity engine to develop a VR roller coaster game, and developed narrative elements and game tasks in the roller coaster scene. The purpose of the project is to explore the impact of narrative on the VR roller coaster presence. And the results of game evaluation can further provide some suggestions on VR game development and evaluation for future research. Controlled experiment method has been adopted in the experiment. Three main roller coaster scenes have been built in the game, and participants were asked to play roller coaster scene experiments step by step. In this experiment, due to COVID-19, only three participants joined the game experiment. The dissertation uses the Presence Questionnaire (PQ), Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) and semi-structured interview methods to analyze the experimental results. Finally, it is concluded that narrative elements can improve the presence of VR roller coaster games. More narrative elements such as interactive objects and game events in the game are important to increase the immersion of the game. This dissertation puts forward several methods where narrative virtual reality games can be improved, and through the results of participants’ experimental evaluations, it provides some useful suggestions for future VR scene developers or game developers.

Keywords

Vr roller coaster; Virtual environment; Narrative; Presence; Roller coaster