Consequences of Playing Violent Video Games in Immersive Virtual Environments

Abstract

One way to gauge the implications that immersive virtual environments (IVEs) hold for research, work, and play is to compare participant experiences using IVE platforms with participant experiences using non-immersive platforms. Hence, virtual environment (VE) researchers have increasingly investigated platform type as an important factor influencing media impact. Experimental researchers can and have evaluated platform effects on participants’ interactions and experiences experimentally by varying platform type or configurations, such as IVE systems and non-immersive systems (e.g., desktop computers), while holding content constant across platforms. The outcomes of such experimental studies can help investigators determine the added value of IVE technologies in various domains. Such outcomes can be positive, contributing an important research tool for behavioral, biomedical, and social scientists; increasing productivity and efficiency in the workplace, and providing desirable leisure experiences. However, such outcomes might also be negative, causing researchers to alert users to potential hazards of various platform types and identifying application-platform combinations in which caution should be exercised and care taken in development and distribution.