  With the increasing availability of modern virtual reality (VR) headsets, the
use and applications of VR technology for gaming purposes have become more
pervasive than ever. Despite the growing popularity of VR gaming, user studies
into how it might affect the player experience (PX) during the gameplay are
scarce. Accordingly, the current study investigated the effects of VR gaming
and game genre on PX. We compared PX metrics for two game genres, strategy
(more interactive) and racing (less interactive), across two gaming platforms,
VR and traditional desktop gaming. Participants were randomly assigned to one
of the gaming platforms, played both a strategy and racing game on their
corresponding platform, and provided PX ratings. Results revealed that,
regardless of the game genre, participants in the VR gaming condition
experienced a greater level of sense of presence than did those in the desktop
gaming condition. That said, results showed that the two gaming platforms did
not significantly differ from one another in PX ratings. As for the effect of
game genre, participants provided greater PX ratings for the strategy game than
for the racing game, regardless of whether the game was played on a VR headset
or desktop computer. Collectively, these results indicate that although VR
gaming affords a greater sense of presence in the game environment, this
increase in presence does not seem to translate into a more satisfactory PX
when playing either a strategy or racing game.
