Coffee tables and cryo chambers: A comparison of user experience and diegetic time between traditional and virtual environment-based roleplaying game scenarios

Abstract

This paper explores how the user experience and diegetic time changes when a specific roleplaying scenario is played via a virtual environment and headsets, compared to a traditional playthrough. A case-study roleplaying scenario is developed to investigate the change in user experience qualitatively, and a virtual environment matching this scenario is created. The players using the virtual environment version spent the entire time communicating within the story, and the diegetic time equated real time for the entire playthrough, compared to approximately 4/5 of the time in the traditional playthrough. Additionally, there are indications that this adherence to the diegesis resulted in a higher suspense. The results show that the virtual environment version can deliver an engaging story experience, and might therefore potentially inspire for a solution to the narrative paradox. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.