Bad Breakdowns, Useful Seams, and Face Slapping: Analysis of VR Fails on YouTube

Emily Dao, Andreea Muresan, Kasper Hornbæk, Jarrod Knibbe

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)
192 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used in complex social and physical settings outside of the lab. However, not much is known about how these settings influence use, nor how to design for them. We analyse 233 YouTube videos of VR Fails to: (1) understand when breakdowns occur, and (2) reveal how the seams between VR use and the social and physical setting emerge. The videos show a variety of fails, including users flailing, colliding with surroundings, and hitting spectators. They also suggest causes of the fails, including fear, sensorimotor mismatches, and spectator participation. We use the videos as inspiration to generate design ideas. For example, we discuss more flexible boundaries between the real and virtual world, ways of involving spectators, and interaction designs to help overcome fear. Based on the findings, we further discuss the ‘moment of breakdown’ as an opportunity for designing engaging and enhanced VR experiences.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI '21: Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Publication date13 May 2021
Pages1-14
Article number526
Chapter524
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 May 2021
EventCHI 2021 Virtual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems -
Duration: 8 May 202113 May 2021
https://chi2021.acm.org/

Conference

ConferenceCHI 2021 Virtual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Period08/05/202113/05/2021
Internet address

Cite this