STUDYING DESIGN ATTRIBUTES OF VIRTUAL CHARACTERS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS' PERCEIVED EXPERIENCES IN VIRTUAL REALITY LECTURES

Abstract

Virtual reality recently expanded to collaborative and social networking environments where users interact with virtual characters (VCs) of various appearances and behaviors, often impacting the quality of experience. In this paper, we present preliminary survey results of perceptions about characteristics of VCs and a user study of a VR lecture app with different styles of virtual instructors. VCs were collected from existing collaborative and social VR applications and categorized by body types and design style. Survey results coupled with prior works guided the development of design styles, which we briefly present. In the user study, 12 users experienced two different VR lectures with randomly assigned character styles. Results show participants found the stylized VC familiar and human while the realistic VC was engaging and trustworthy. Results also show feelings of learning more about the lecture topic with the stylized VC.