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The effect of embodied interaction designs on flow experience: examination in VR games

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Abstract

Embodied interaction (EI) is a body-based interactive paradigm that has the potential to enhance the flow experience in virtual reality (VR). To examine this hypothesis, this paper distinguishes three common types of EI in VR, namely body-based, tangible, and avatar-based EI. In empirical studies 1–3, three comparative experiments were carried out to examine the respective effects of these EI modes on flow experience. Subjective and physiological data (e.g., electrodermal activity, etc.) from studies 1–2 show that the use of body-based and tangible EI leads to the enhancement of physiological arousal (an important indicator of concentration) and flow experience. Study 3 reveals the effect of avatar-based EI on flow experience. Using a high-ownership avatar is found to enhance the sense of presence and involvement, which then improves flow. This effect is only for experienced users, showing a moderating effect. The mechanism of these positive effects requires further clarification.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this paper. The authors thank Pu Qin for the help in preparing the experiment. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61972233;62277035;62007021); the postdoctoral research foundation of china (2021TQ0178), Young Scholars Program of Shandong University,Weihai (20820211005) and Special Project of Science and Technology Innovation Base of Key Laboratory of Shandong Province for Software Engineering (11480004042015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shandong University, Shandong, China

    Yulong Bian, Wei Gai, Juan Liu & Chenglei Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Shandong Province for Software Engineering, Shandong, China

    Yulong Bian, Wei Gai, Juan Liu & Chenglei Yang

  3. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Chao Zhou

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  1. Yulong Bian
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  2. Chao Zhou
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Bian, Y., Zhou, C., Gai, W. et al. The effect of embodied interaction designs on flow experience: examination in VR games. Virtual Reality 27, 1549–1565 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-023-00758-3

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