ElectroCutscenes: Realistic haptic feedback in cutscenes of virtual reality games using electric muscle stimulation

Abstract

Cutscenes in Virtual Reality (VR) games enhance story telling by delivering output in the form of visual, auditory, or haptic feedback (e.g., using vibrating handheld controllers). Since they lack interaction in the form of user input, cutscenes would significantly benefit from improved feedback. We introduce the concept and implementation of ElectroCutscenes, where Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) is leveraged to elicit physical user movements to different body parts to correspond to those of personal avatars in cutscenes of VR games while the user stays passive. Through a user study (N=22) in which users passively received kinesthetic feedback resulting in involuntarily movements, we show that ElectroCutscenes significantly increases perceived presence and realism compared to controller-based vibrotactile and no haptic feedback. Furthermore, we found preliminary evidence that combining visual and EMS feedback can evoke movements that are not actuated by either of them alone. We discuss how to enhance realism and presence of cutscenes in VR games even when EMS can partially rather than completely actuate the desired body movements.