Virtual Reality
Immersion and Presence
Support Materials
The Scales of Reality
Real Life / Matter Reality
The tangible physical realm in which space, presence, and immersion are based on physical instincts and sensory environmental factors. The rules of gravity and reality without the need for wearables or mobile lenses.
Augmented Reality
Digital content overlaid over real-world objects, spaces, and people via an intermiddetrary device such as a mobile phone or headset. Tracked in real time using trackable points of interest.
Virtual Reality
Users are totally surrounded by digital content be it 360 film, digital worlds, or experiences via the use of a headset. Real-world is occluded.
Engagement
Any Immersive experience must be able to engage and hold the attention of the audience / end user and the level to which they engage depends on their personal willingness to invest in the experience.
Barriers to entry:
Accessibility:
The experience needs to match users’ preferences be its personal interests, access to content, and ability to actively engage or share in the experience being presented.
Time:
End users are more willing to engage if they are willing to dedicate time to the activity and don’t feel restricted or limited, the pacing of this can vary from user to user. Too short and people can leave unsatisfied, too long and can build a negative perception of such experiences.
Engrossment
Engrossing experiences are those which make users and audiences feel compelled to remain and continue experiencing the content they are being presented with and stay in the space they are in. Time is no longer a primary perceived concern.
Barriers to entry:
Depth of Experience:
The more in-depth the experience i.e. they can believe and feel part of the world/experience being present the longer attention is held.
Distractions and Sensory obstructions:
Sensory stimulation be it visual, auditory, or physical can impact how users engage and otherwise invest/believe in what they are experiencing. Controlled story and world-building are important as space and place should trigger sensory emotions even if digital.
Total Immersion
Total Immersion focuses more on the psychological needs of its users looking at presence and the sense of flow between the activity and environment with real-world external factors being demoted in importance during the time of engagement.
Barriers to entry:
Empathy:
If audiences can feel emotional connections to the story and experience being presented to them they can achieve higher levels of immersion and attachment to what they are experiencing leading to more positive outcomes.
Awareness:
A totally immersive experience breaks the personal need for awareness of real-world concerns such as time (flow) and even elements of the real world as they are engulfed in the narrative being presented to them.
Presence
No Agency
These are where the experiencer has no control or direct interaction with the experience itself and is simply viewing the experience as not influencing the outcome.
This is a lot like being on tracks whereby the cart will keep moving forwards but the linear motion is directed not controlled by you as the rider.
The most successful VR Experiences are those which can give the audience members/users the highest level of presence as the more they feel part of the environment/story the more they will engage. Presence experiences do not have to reflect or abide by real-world rules but should tell a story, build a world and give the impression of space and freedom (even if not present) to make the user feel important either as a bystander or active member of the action.
When we are looking at presence and its importance we are comparatively looking at the agency of experience from a user’s perspective.
Local Agency
This is whereby the individuals can influence their own experiences and direct the narrative path for themselves but this does not have any impact or influence on the overall experience for others.
Global Agency
The actions of one can impact the experience and direction of others and thus have a consequence on the overall narrative experienced.
Individuals can still have their own experiences but their choices can influence and be felt by others creating different experiences each time.