Effects of line length, number of lines, line spacing, and font size on reading performance of Chinese text in virtual reality environment

Abstract

The increasing importance of virtual reality (VR) necessitates reading in VR environments. Nonetheless, there is a lack of research on the factors influencing reading performance (speed and accuracy) in VR. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of line length, number of lines, line spacing, and font size on the response time and accuracy of a Chinese comprehension task in VR. Thirty-two participants were required to read Chinese passages and answer 32 multiple-choice questions in VR. The results indicated that line spacing significantly affected reading speed. Meanwhile, the interaction between the number of lines and line spacing had a significant impact on reading accuracy. To improve reading speed and accuracy, it is advisable to use single-line spacing, 20 characters per line, and ensure that the vertical distance created by the number of lines and line spacing does not exceed the optimal field of view.