Summary:
Introducing users accustomed to common direct manipulation interfaces, such as touchscreens, to fully immersive direct manipulation interfaces using a VR headset was challenging. I learned to focus the users attention through the use of audio cues and animations.
What is the Boston History Project..?
The Boston History Project was a VR application aimed at college students to study the effects of gender differences between students and Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) while in a more immersive environment with the hopes of increasing learning effects. The student tasked by John and Abigail Adams follows one of John Adam's assistants, Lydia or Henry, to investigate the aftermath of the 1770’s Boston Massacre.
The Problem and the Solution
The problem was reducing the learning curve for users from touchscreens, a direct manipulation interface, to a VR headset, a fully immersive direct manipulation interface. This resulted in two types of users: a highly active user who would often correlate real-world logic to the environment interface, or an extremely timid user who was too afraid to interact at all.
Through several iterations of testing, I found the best solution to both problems was to draw the user’s attention through audio cues and animations. The goal was to prevent the user from having any time to explore or be overwhelmed by the environment, this was achieved by first limiting the users ability to move throughout the environment, then we called the users attention with audio cues. Next, animations were used to hold the user’s attention which was also combined with audio dialog from the characters.
Gallery
Picture from left to right: Old State House in Boston, MA, Old State House from the Boston History Project, John and Abigail Adams, Henry and Lydia, and results from our study taken from Pedagogical-Agent Learning Companions in a Virtual Reality Educational Experience
Lydia and Henry
John and Abigail Adams
Table of results from Pedagogical-Agent Learning Companions in a Virtual Reality Educational Experience
Old State House in Boston, MA
