title: Impact of Observers on Player Performance and Experience in VR Games
Creators: name: Guo, Zixuan
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2024

description: In our daily lives, being observed by others can significantly impact our performance and feelings. Familiar observers often make us feel comfortable and engaged, while unfamiliar ones might induce anxiety but also drive us to perform better. This effect becomes even more complex in virtual reality (VR) games, as observers can be either virtual or real. Additionally, while players can become fully immersed in the virtual world, this also means they are isolated from the real world. To address this issue, both academia and industry have developed various awareness systems, such as the Passthrough feature, to enhance users' awareness of their real-world surroundings. For virtual observers, the impact of their familiarity with players has not yet been explored. Regarding real observers, although some studies have investigated their effects on players, these were conducted without users being aware of the real world. With the advancement of VR awareness systems, past research conclusions may no longer be applicable and need to be re-evaluated.
This thesis aims to fill research gaps by providing a comprehensive understanding of social processes in VR gaming environments, focusing on the impact of being observed by both virtual and human observers and the social dimension of familiarity. The research investigates four distinct social observation scenarios. First, it explores how the familiarity of virtual observers—manipulated through appearances and voices—affects player performance and experience. Second, the study examines interactions with familiar real observers in shared spaces, evaluating the influence of different levels of real-world awareness on player experience. Third, it extends the investigation to scenarios involving unfamiliar real observers in shared spaces, analyzing the effects of observer presence in varied settings such as offices and corridors, as well as the impact of real-world awareness features. Finally, the research conducts a field study in a public environment with many passersby, specifically a university campus passageway, to explore the effects of awareness systems on player performance and experience.
The findings reveal that the familiarity of observers, whether virtual or real, significantly shapes players' experiences. Familiar observers generally enhance performance and comfort, while unfamiliar observers pose unique challenges affecting immersion and social acceptance. Awareness systems, particularly those with Passthrough functionality, prove effective in improving interaction and reducing psychological pressure in various scenarios. Additionally, individual differences, particularly self-consciousness, play a significant role, with enhanced environmental awareness benefiting those who are more self-conscious. By elucidating these social processes, this thesis enhances the understanding of how both virtual and real observers impact VR gaming experiences and provides practical recommendations for designing more immersive and user-friendly VR environments.