A direct comparison of presence levels in text-based and graphics-based virtual environments

We present results from an experiment (n=78) which used two presence measures to directly compare presence in text-based and graphics-based VEs of two levels of quality. The results show that text-based VEs produce less presence than graphics-based VEs, but the actual difference is less than 20%. This finding has implications for those wishing to implement VEs in impoverished devices or those working towards understanding the cognitive processing of VEs.

[1]  Mary C. Whitton,et al.  Walking > walking-in-place > flying, in virtual environments , 1999, SIGGRAPH.

[2]  Matthew Lombard,et al.  At the Heart of It All: The Concept of Presence , 2006 .

[3]  Edwin H. Blake,et al.  Presence as a means for understanding user behaviour in virtual environments , 2000, South Afr. Comput. J..

[4]  Woodrow Barfield,et al.  Presence in virtual environments as a function of visual and auditory cues , 1995, Proceedings Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium '95.

[5]  Elizabeth Towell,et al.  Presence in Text-Based Networked Virtual Environments or MUDS , 1997, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[6]  Mel Slater,et al.  Depth of Presence in Virtual Environments , 1994, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[7]  Mel Slater,et al.  A Virtual Presence Counter , 2000, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[8]  Mel Slater,et al.  Presence and The Sixth Sense , 2002, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[9]  Anderson,et al.  Special Feature Zork: A Computerized Fantasy Simulation Game , 1979, Computer.

[10]  Jonathan Steuer,et al.  Defining virtual reality: dimensions determining telepresence , 1992 .

[11]  Diane J. Schiano Lessons from LambdaMOO: A Social, Text-Based Virtual Environment , 1999, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[12]  Michael J. Singer,et al.  Measuring Presence in Virtual Environments: A Presence Questionnaire , 1998, Presence.