Aiming is key for virtual reality (VR) interaction, and it is often done using VR controllers. Recent eye-tracking integrations in commercial VR head-mounted displays (HMDs) call for further research on usability and performance aspects to better determine possibilities and limitations. This paper presents a user study exploring gaze aiming in VR compared to a traditional controller in an “aim and shoot” task. Different speeds of targets and trajectories were studied. Qualitative data was gathered using the system usability scale (SUS) and cognitive load (NASA TLX) questionnaires. Results show a lower perceived cognitive load using gaze aiming and on par usability scale. Gaze aiming produced on par task duration but lower accuracy on most conditions. Lastly, the trajectory of the target significantly affected the orientation of the HMD in relation to the target’s location. The results show potential using gaze aiming in VR and motivate further research. © 2019 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM.

The following article offers a set of recommendations that are considered relevant for designing and executing experiences with Virtual Reality (VR) technology. It presents a brief review of the history and evolution of VR, along with the physiological issues related to its use. Additionally, typical practices in VR, used by both academia and industry are discussed and contrasted. These were further analysed from an ethical perspective, guided by legal and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) frameworks, to understand their motivation and goals, and the rights and responsibilities related to the exposure of research participants and final consumers to VR. Our results showed that there is a significant disparity between practices in academia and industry, and for industry specifically, there can be breaches of user protection regulations and poor ethical practices. The differences found are mainly in regards to the type of content presented, the overall setup of VR experiences, and the amount of information provided to participants or consumers respectively. To contribute to this issue, this study highlights some ethical aspects and also offers practical considerations that aim, not only to have more appropriate practices with VR in public spaces but also to motivate a discussion and reflection to ease the adoption of this technology in the consumer market.

Selecting color schemes for game objects is an important task. It can be valuable to game designers to know what colors are preferred. Principles of color theory are important to select appropriate colors. This paper presents a perceptual experiment that evaluates some basic principles of color theory applied to game objects to study if a particular combination is preferred. An experiment was conducted with 15 participants who performed a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) preference experiment using 236 pairs of images each. The pairs were based on color harmonies derived from the colors red, green, and blue. The color harmonies were evaluated against each other and included analogous, complementary, split-complementary, triad, and warm and cool colors. A high and low saturation condition was also included. The color harmonies were applied to an existing game character (avatar) and a new object (cube) to study any potential differences in the results. The initial results show that some color harmonies, in particular triad and split-complementary, were generally preferred over others meaning that it is important to take into account these aspects in game design. Additional results also show that color harmonies with a base in green were not as popular as red and blue color harmonies.