Investigation of visual and game-playing performance under different genders, display and operation interfaces

Abstract

Technological progress has led to 3D displays becoming a trend in the market, yet few studies have evaluated 3D techniques in head-mounted displays (HMD) under different topics simultaneously, such as gender and operation interfaces. This study investigated these research issues to examine the effect of gender (male, female), display interface (2D TV, 3D HMD), and operation interface (joystick, keyboard) on usability, accuracy, change of critical flicker frequency (change of CFF), Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), and iGroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ). Thirty participants with no NBA2K15 basketball game-playing experience were recruited in the experiment. The results showed significant effects of gender on accuracy, usability, and change of CFF, where males demonstrated higher accuracy, lower usability, and lower visual fatigue. In addition, display interface had significant effects on usability, SSQ and IPQ. The 2D TV was associated with higher usability and lower SSQ and IPQ. Furthermore, the operation interface had significant effects on accuracy, usability, change of CFF, and IPQ. The joystick led to a higher usability and IPQ but a lower change of CFF. The results provide suggestions to game players that choosing 2D TVs with joysticks generates greater usability. In addition, although they achieved a higher presence, players also had greater visual fatigue when wearing HMDs. This study concluded that males have better performance in accuracy and visual fatigue while females have better usability when playing basketball games.