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How Long Does It Take to Alleviate Discomfort? A Preliminary Study on Reducing Cybersickness in Novice Users

Zhengxin Zhang, Shufang Qian, Yi Wang, Xiao Liu, Thuong Hoang, Chetan Arora, Jingjing Zhang, Henry Been Lirn Duh

TL;DR

This study investigates how novices acclimate to cybersickness in VR and whether locomotion tunneling mitigates symptoms over repeated exposure. Using VRChat with 24 first-time users across five days and a between-subjects design, the authors combine SSQ measurements with qualitative feedback to evaluate high, low, and no tunneling across two fast-paced VR games. Results indicate significant cybersickness reduction by Day 4 for participants regardless of tunneling level, but a scene transition on Day 5 increased symptoms, suggesting limits to adaptation and the influence of environmental changes. The findings offer practical guidance for onboarding novice VR users and highlight the need for broader participant characteristics and content diversity in future work.

Abstract

Cybersickness significantly impacts the user experience in VR applications. Locomotion tunneling is a widely adopted technique for mitigating cybersickness in susceptible users. However, there is a lack of research investigating the effects of prolonged use of locomotion tunneling among novice users. To fill this gap, we used VRChat as our experimental platform. We recruited 24 novice VR users, defined as participants with no prior experience using immersive virtual environments. We collected five days of data within a one-week period. The results indicated that participants exhibited significant mitigation to cybersickness by Day 4. However, a change in the VR scene on Day 5 led to a notable increase in cybersickness symptoms. Qualitative feedback revealed participant-perceived causes of cybersickness and suggested that the effectiveness of locomotion tunneling was limited in some scenarios. Finally, we discussed the limitations of the study and proposed directions for future research.

How Long Does It Take to Alleviate Discomfort? A Preliminary Study on Reducing Cybersickness in Novice Users

TL;DR

This study investigates how novices acclimate to cybersickness in VR and whether locomotion tunneling mitigates symptoms over repeated exposure. Using VRChat with 24 first-time users across five days and a between-subjects design, the authors combine SSQ measurements with qualitative feedback to evaluate high, low, and no tunneling across two fast-paced VR games. Results indicate significant cybersickness reduction by Day 4 for participants regardless of tunneling level, but a scene transition on Day 5 increased symptoms, suggesting limits to adaptation and the influence of environmental changes. The findings offer practical guidance for onboarding novice VR users and highlight the need for broader participant characteristics and content diversity in future work.

Abstract

Cybersickness significantly impacts the user experience in VR applications. Locomotion tunneling is a widely adopted technique for mitigating cybersickness in susceptible users. However, there is a lack of research investigating the effects of prolonged use of locomotion tunneling among novice users. To fill this gap, we used VRChat as our experimental platform. We recruited 24 novice VR users, defined as participants with no prior experience using immersive virtual environments. We collected five days of data within a one-week period. The results indicated that participants exhibited significant mitigation to cybersickness by Day 4. However, a change in the VR scene on Day 5 led to a notable increase in cybersickness symptoms. Qualitative feedback revealed participant-perceived causes of cybersickness and suggested that the effectiveness of locomotion tunneling was limited in some scenarios. Finally, we discussed the limitations of the study and proposed directions for future research.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 15 sections, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Formative Study
  4. Hypothesis
  5. Participants
  6. VR Game Selection and Conditions
  7. Procedure
  8. Measurement
  9. Results
  10. Day 1 vs. Other Four Days
  11. Qualitative Feedback
  12. Discussion
  13. Day 1 vs. Other Four Days
  14. Limitations
  15. Conclusion

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Two VR games (A-VR Jetski Rush, and B-VR C1 RUnner) of the different types of locomotion tunnelings. A1 and B1 are the original virtual environments (no locomotion tunneling). A2 and B2 are the low locomotion tunneling. A3 and B3 are the high locomotion tunneling.
  • Figure 2: The results of high cybersickness from Day 1 to Day 5 in both "high locomotion tunneling" (orange) and "no locomotion tunneling" (blue) conditions.
  • Figure 3: The results of mild cybersickness from Day 1 to Day 5 in both "low locomotion tunneling" (orange) and "no locomotion tunneling" (blue) conditions.