Comparison of user accuracy and speed when performing 3D game target practice using a computer monitor and virtual reality headset

Sammanfattning: Consumer grade Virtual Reality (VR)-headsets are on the rise, and with them comes an increasing number of digital games which support VR. How players perceive the gameplay and how well they perform at the games tasks can be key factors to designing new games. This master’s thesis aims to evaluate if a user can performa game task, specifically a target practice, in less time and/or more accurately when using a VR-headset as opposed to a computer screen and mouse. To gather statistics and measure the differences, an experiment was conducted using a test application developed alongside this report. The experiment recorded accuracy scores and time taken in tests performed by 35 test participants using both a VR-headset and computer screen. The resulting data sets are presented in the results chapter of this report. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov Normality Test and Student’s paired samples t-test was performed on the data to establish its statistical significance. After analysis, the results are reviewed, discussed and conclusions are made. This study concludes that when performing the experiment, the use of a VR-headset decreased the users accuracy and to a lesser extent also increased the time the user took to hit all targets. An argument was made that the longer previous experience with computer screen and mouse of most users gave this method an unfair advantage. With equally long training, VR use might score similar results.