Session 7 - HTC Vive and the Phenomenological Experience

In week 7 of Investigating Mind-Brain-Body Interactions in Virtual Reality, students were given the chance to test the HTC Vive virtual reality headset and the game Waltz of the Wizard by Aldn Dynamics. Before entering the virtual reality space, students were instructed to take note of their body during gameplay. A follow-up discussion allowed participants to discuss their subjective experience regarding the changes they observed.

HTC Vive

Vive headset, two handheld controllers and two base sensors; source: https://www.vive.com

The HTC Vive is an immersive 360 virtual reality headset that utilizes two 1200 x 1080 displays that refresh at 90 frames per second. The technology reduces visual delays and relies on sensor feedback for movement in a space of up to 15 x 15 feet. [1] The Vive comes with two Lighthouse boxes that emit infrared light within the play space. The light is then picked up by the headset and two hand controllers, enabling the users to move and interact in virtual space.

HTC's Chaperone, what is often referred to as "Tron Mode", is a topographic mapping program that outlines elements of the external world while exploring the virtual space. This is an important safety measure for games that require the player to stand and walk around, despite transitioning the experience from an immersive virtual reality to more of an augmented one.

Waltz of the Wizard

Waltz of the Wizard, fireball ability

The game developed by Aldn Dynamics is a first person game that allows users to interact in a magical room as a wizard. Working with two floating virtual hands, via controllers, players can interact with various magical items on a table. Players are given a cauldron, spells in the form of globes, ingredients, a colored xylophone ("gateway"), and other various objects. By combining arcane elements into the cauldron, players can obtain creative or destructive powers and use them to interact with the room.[2] As the wizard, players can observe that they do not have a physical body other than two floating hands.

Reporting on Experience

Johannes in giant mode; Waltz of the Wizard experience

After gameplay, students were asked to report on their experiences of disembodiment and using spells to change the environment or their own physical size within the virtual space. Many reported feelings of immersion within their virtual environment and body. However, during gameplay, they occasionally experienced Tron Mode overlaying the gameplay. This allowed players to reconnect with their whole physical bodies and external space, thus disrupting the illusion of complete immersion. As a result, it was difficult for students to report on the feelings associated with disembodiment. For those who had a moment of disembodiment during lapses of Tron mode, the feeling was "weird" and may have presented a sense of weightlessness. One student felt her body was still there, she just wasn't looking "far back enough" to see it.

For those who were able to activate the "giant" mode in Waltz of the Wizard, there was little consensus on the subjective feeling of "growing" bigger. Some assumed the room or objects actually became smaller, as a way for the mind to reconcile the likelihood of this occurrence in the real world. For those who used spells to create fireball or other levitating abilities, some reported a feeling of excitement over control and power in the environment.

Another notable part about the group experience involved outside observations. When first placed into the virtual environment, some became comfortable and fluid in their movements and interactions. Others seemed static and wary in their movements, perhaps still feeling a detachment towards the virtual environment. This also changed over time, as students adapted to the new sense of reality.

Possible ways to enhance immersion:

-> Feeling weight and texture of the objects in interaction

-> Removal or enhanced integration of Chaperone or other external mapping programs. If removed, there needs to be adequate safety measures in place.