Towards the utilization of diegetic UI in virtual reality educational content

Abstract

In this paper we introduce our ongoing VR learning program for fjord that can enhance the user's sense of immersion using the diegetic UI in virtual reality environment. Fjord is a typical example of glacier terrain, which is not very well known to our target users - junior high school students. As a method to naturally enhance the sense of immersion, we focus on the natural progression of the immersion senses by avoiding the use of non-diegetic UI (e.g., explicit head-up display menus) and employing the diegetic UI (such as the involvement of story characters who are helping the story progression, the use of props and interactable objects, and sound effects that can provide clues and aid in the process) in virtual reality environment. We take three preliminary design issues into account - usability, utility, and satisfaction - when building diegetic UI in VR environments. First, usability addresses how easily and naturally learners (or users) can interact and use in the VR environment. Second, utility delineates how well learners achieve their goals in the VR environment. Third, satisfaction describes the learners' sense of satisfaction that they can obtain while experiencing the VR educational content.