There are three techniques that should overcome and help us craft more usable experiences in VR: spatial cognition, physical discomfort, and visual efforts.
Spatial cognition
Rich spatial cues are one of VR’s unique features, understanding human cognition is a fundamental value for developing VR experiences. Because humans are visual and spatial learners, we present information visually and spatially in our brain to enhance memory. VR enriches the layers of vision, space, and user-driven exploration. All layers in the VR environment help the memories and feelings associated with them. We are naturally enabled to remember things visually in the context of the VR space.
In VR, users directly control the view perspective with equipments. In other words, we step into a new room, the continuous movements that we act unconsciously provide our brains with numerous information. The head tracking must be precise enough that allows head movements to translate into users’ visual systems at the same time.
How to improve VR experiences for users?
- Provide information as an anchor: add visual and spatial cues to abstract information or functionality. Take Fantastic Contraption’s menus as an example. In this video game, users need to trigger the list by using objects instead of checking buttons or text.
- Give a hint: provide users unnormal clues of the location which we want them to remember it — for example, placing something odd around it so people can not only find out that visual information easily but also stick in memory better.
- Group similar objects: in VR, people need to find a virtual menu, toolbox, inventory in the environment. If we grouped the specific items by higher priority, people might be more natural to find out and remember the location.
- Show people rather than tell them: Spatially organizing the steps in a workflow to help users complete the task. The design will support recognition rather than recall users to remember all of the steps.
VR MAN 