Immersion: The Challenge for Commodity Gaming

Abstract

Presented here is a case for a higher level of engagement and immersion in gaming by proposing gaming software support for displays that engage the players peripheral vision. It is widely accepted that the sense of "being there" or "presence" is heightened by "removing the frame", that is, filling the viewers field of view with a virtual environment [1]. Except for a few special cases this is almost entirely unsupported in current commodity games, and yet the importance is readily accepted as is illustrated by the widespread use in commercial simulators and virtual reality environments. This paper will present the general requirements necessary to support a range of seamless immersive displays, that is, displays that engage a significant portion, if not all, of the users field of view. It will further outline a software pipeline split into two parts, a generic section that generates the necessary visual information followed by a section that handles the device/display specific details.

Immersion, virtual reality, peripheral vision, surround display, gaming, engagement, presence

Paper: paper.pdf

Slides: slides.pdf