Understanding the Advantages of a Hybrid Setting Over the Virtual Setting in Serious Game Application

Abstract

The conventions of Virtual Reality (VR) controllers trace their lineage from decades of controllers used within the predominantly 2D computer world. Such controllers are not always precise or deft enough to adequately train people through Serious Games (SG) Applications. Virtual Reality environments open up huge opportunities for training “in the round” and while efforts are being made to refine controllers for use in this 3D VR medium, we propose that there is a case to be made now for a mixed medium approach, combining the freedom (and safety) of VR training with tactile, real-world equipment, integrated into the software. While not all VR training requires this level of specialism, it is an avenue worth exploring when trainees are learning skills that could save lives, or where full precision, at speed, could mean the difference between life and death. This paper presents a preliminary study within the context of our own case study of the creation and testing of a SG, VR based training application for the correct use of fire extinguishers, and how to use them to control a fire swiftly and safety.