User Experience in 3D Stereoscopic Games

Abstract

New display technologies, such as 3D stereoscopic displays, provide opportunities to enhance the user experience (UX) in digital games. A widely-held belief is “the more stereo, the better experience.” The purpose of this study is to examine this belief and evaluate the added value of 3D stereo to the UX in games. Stereo separation in a display was varied, and a multidimensional UX was measured using a psychological Presence-Involvement-Flow Framework² (PIFF²) in a between-subjects design. The PIFF² findings were further supported by both qualitative and objective measures. Users' descriptions of the game were included as well as adverse symptoms, open-ended negative aspects of 3D stereo, basic eye physiology, objective performance metrics, and fundamental background variables. This hybrid qualitative-quantitative methodology shows that more stereo does not lead to better UX. It was shown that a moderate level of stereo separation affected the UX most by increasing the sense of presence among the users. These results deepen the previous findings in investigating the stereo effect in different media. The advantage of using multidimensional measures to evaluate UX, the added value of 3D stereo, and the practical implications of the results are further discussed.

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Erratum

Notes

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the following foundations: the Eemil Aaltonen Foundation, the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation, and the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation.

*Method: PFA = principal factors analysis, PC = principal component analysis, Qu = qualitative interview, QN = quantitative data collection.

1. Maddox Wing is a hand-held instrument that measures near heterophoria by showing different images to the left and right eyes. Seeing different images prevents stereoscopic fusion and the alignment of the eyes becomes visible.