Player Experience in a VR and Non-VR Multiplayer Game

Abstract

Several studies compared the player experience of Virtual Reality (VR) games and non-VR games. However, there is a lack of research on the specific subject of VR and non-VR multiplayer games. Therefore, this work explores how implementing a multiplayer game in VR may influence the player experience compared to the non-VR alternative. We developed a short multiplayer puzzle game that can be played as a VR game or as a non-VR game. The player experience of the different game versions was evaluated by having players answer the Game Experience Questionnaire by IJsselsteijn et al. and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire by Kennedy et al. after playing each version. The results showed that a majority of the aspects of player experience were rated significantly higher for the VR versions compared to the non-VR alternative. However, it was noted that two different VR versions fared differently compared to the non-VR alternative, and they scored vastly different when calculating a total simulator sickness score.We conclude that implementing similar multiplayer games in VR can improve the player experience, but care is required to achieve the best player experience in VR.