Rat Maze of VR      
 
Evaluation and User Testing

Once our prototype was complete, we user tested subjects from the CMU campus.

The experiment requires one subject per trial who will be the "guest" experiencing the maze in a HMD, and a second subject who will manipulate the virtual world.

We feel that our testing did not lead to statistical significance given the time constraints and difficulty in measuring emotional experiences; however, we did aim to gather anecdotal evidence as to the successes and failures of our manipulation techniques.

 


 
User Testing - Lessons Learned


Give the guest a goal:
Before VR guests are placed in the maze, they are given the simple task of finding their friend Gromit (left). Having a goal, even a simple one, motivates these individuals to explore their surroundings and gives purpose to their search. We found early on that not having a specific, easy-to-understand task greatly detracted from the guest's experience. We also found that showing them their goal before they put on the HMD helps them recognize the virtual goal (lower left).
 

 
Take it easy out of the gate:

Once the guest is in the HMD and finds themselves in the virtual maze, we give them a small room to get acquainted with their environment. In this room, they are able to practice their navigational skills and there are plenty of "landmark" objects to help them orient themselves. Once they are comfortable walking around, there is a single exit door so that they can practice opening and closing doors before they continue. Once they are comfortable with all of the tasks at hand, they can proceed with the story.
 
 
 
   
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