Effect of resolution on player performance and experience in virtual reality low-fidelity first-person shooting games

Abstract: Background. With the increasing popularity of virtual reality(VR) in gaming              applications, it is important to understand the factors that influence the user experienceof players in VR games. One such factor is the resolution of the VR headsets, whichdetermines the clarity and sharpness of the applications on the screen. However,achieving higher visual details can consume a lot of computational power and limitaccessibility for users with lower-end hardware. Objectives. The aim of this project was to determine if different resolution settingsavailable in VR affect the performance of players, their game experience, and simulator sickness symptoms. The objectives of the thesis project included the developmentof an FPS game prototype with low visual details, designing and conducting a userstudy, and analyzing the data collected during the experiment to find any relationbetween different resolutions on the performance and experience of the participants. Methods. A VR FPS game prototype was developed with a low level of visualdetails which was played in varying resolutions from 2k to 4k. Participants (n=27)were asked to play the game in each resolution and complete surveys on game experience and simulator sickness using standard questionnaires. The performance of theparticipants was measured by recording the time taken to hit targets, and the totalpoints scored at the end of 90 seconds in each resolution. Results. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in player performance and experience of participants in 2k, 3k, and 4k resolutions. The simulatorsickness symptoms such as eyestrain and difficulty in focusing and concentrating werefound to be most extreme in the highest and lowest resolution. Conclusions. In conclusion, this thesis project found that increasing resolution doesnot necessarily increase the performance and experience of players in the VR FPSgame prototype. However, the simulator sickness symptoms depend on the resolutionand are of statistical importance in the highest(4k) and the lowest(2k) resolution.