Evaluating player immersion in survival horror video game design

Abstract

While survival horror video games develop at a rapid pace, a gap in user experience research continues to widen alongside their development. More specifically, this study seeks to understand how perspective and narrative affect player immersion in survival horror video games by performing a comparative study of player experience during gameplay with and without virtual reality enhancement. By evaluating how players interact with the gameplay experience, this study will identify how differing player perspective provokes or affects player immersion. Based on these findings, this study recommends a less restrictive game structure that limits the use of narrative cutscenes, provides more than one way to complete game challenges/objectives, and allows for virtual reality enhancement options.