Asymmetric VR Game Subgenres: Implications for Analysis and Design

Abstract

This paper identifies subgenres of asymmetric virtual reality (AVR) games and proposes the AVR Game Genre (AVRGG) framework for developing AVR games. We examined 66 games “in the wild” to develop the AVRGG and used it to identify 5 subgenres of AVR games including David(s) vs. Goliath, Hide and Seek, Perspective Puzzle, Order Simulation, and Lifeline. We describe these genres, which account for nearly half of the 66 games reviewed, in terms of the AVRGG framework that highlights salient asymmetries in the mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics categories. To evaluate the usefulness of the AVRGG framework, we conducted four workshops (two with the AVRGG framework and two without) with novice game designers who generated 16 original AVR game concepts. Comparisons between the workshop groups, observations of the design sessions, focus groups, and surveys showed the promise and limitations of the AVRGG framework as a design tool. We found that novice designers were able to understand and apply the AVRGG framework after only a brief introduction. The observations indicated two primary challenges that AVR designers face: balancing the game between VR and non-VR player(s) and generating original game concepts. The AVRGG framework helped overcome the balancing concerns due to its ability to inspire novice game designers with example subgenres and draw attention to the asymmetric mechanics and competitive/cooperative nature of games. While half of those who used the AVRGG framework to design with created games that fit directly into existing subgenres, the other half viewed the subgenres as “creative constraints” useful in jumpstarting novel game designs that combined, modified, or purposefully avoided existing subgenres. Additional benefits and limitations of the AVRGG framework are outlined in the paper.