The effect of narrative element incorporation on physical activity and game experience in active and sedentary virtual reality games

Abstract

Narratives are pervasive in video games and have been found to increase physical activity in active video games. However, the effect of incorporating narrative elements has seldom been examined in fully immersive virtual reality games. We investigated the effect of narrative element incorporation (between-subject: narrative vs. no narrative) in active virtual reality and sedentary virtual reality games (within-subject) and examined between- and within-subject effects on physical activity behavior, game experience, and physical activity engagement. We randomized 36 sedentary college students to either the narrative or the non-narrative group. All participants played an active virtual reality and a sedentary virtual reality game in counter-balanced order. Before each game session, they either watched a 5-min narrative video (narrative) or directly played the original virtual reality games without narratives (non-narrative). We collected participants’ physical activity data using wrist-worn accelerometers; we obtained their game experience and physical activity engagement via questionnaires. The narrative group spent a greater proportion of time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (%) and had less non-movement time during the active virtual reality gameplay than the non-narrative group (all p values < .05). The active virtual reality sessions induced a greater positive affect and greater physical activity engagement ratings than the sedentary virtual reality sessions. The incorporation of narrative elements in active virtual reality increased the relative time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and reduced non-movement time, compared to the non-narrative group. Active virtual reality encouraged more activity by participants and offered them a more enjoyable gaming experience in which they engaged more. Active virtual reality is a feasible physical activity promotion option among sedentary adults; the incorporation of narrative elements in active virtual reality helps increase relative moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and should be further explored for its efficacy.

Videos using different message strategies to promote the interruption of sedentary behavior in university students during online lectures – A pilot study

“…Another possible explanation for this preliminary result is that animated images may be more able to gain attention during online lectures which are demanding for students’ concentration and additionally may be suitable for a topic requiring being active. Depicting possible differences between narrative and non-narrative video formats, the current results are incongruent with a recent study ( 59 ) which found that narrative videos were superior to non-narrative videos in reducing students’ subsequent sedentary behavior while playing video games. In our study, narrative and non-narrative formats only varied with regard to the application of a dialog, but the same moving images were presented.…”

Factors Associated with College Students’ Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination and Preferred Strategies for Catch-Up Vaccine Promotion: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…The primary limitation was being able to access technology to support participation in a VR-based intervention. VR interventions for college students date back more than 10 years to explorations with influences on alcohol behavior [ 57 , 58 ], physical activity [ 59 , 60 , 61 ] and healthy eating [ 62 , 63 ], and mental health [ 64 , 65 , 66 ]. Recently published research has shown VR and augmented reality interventions to be appropriate for building confidence in vaccinations and promoting adherence to vaccination recommendations [ 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ].…”

Creating an Immersive Virtual-Reality Space for Multiuser Synchronous Co-Located Collaboration: Design Considerations and Influencing Factors

“…Seeing avatars' actions (3) Interacting with teammates (6) Moving realistically (1) Face-to-face negotiation (2) Co-located (11) Safety issues (6) Real and warm (2) Form strategies quickly (3) Pretraining (22) Lack of understanding of game rules (9) Unfamiliarity with VR devices (1) Effective observation and learning (11) Prior experience (1) Theme 4…”