Towards Sustainable Virtual Reality: Gathering Design Guidelines for Intuitive Authoring Tools

Abstract

Virtual reality experiences are frequently created using game engines, yet they are not simple for novices and unskilled professionals who do not have programming and 3D modeling skills. Concurrently, there is a knowledge gap in software project design for intuitive virtual reality authoring tools, which were supposed to be easier to use. This study compiles design guidelines derived from a systematic literature review to contribute to the development of more intuitive virtual reality authoring tools. We searched the Scopus and Web of Science knowledge databases for studies published between 2018 and 2021 and discovered fourteen articles. We compiled fourteen requirement and feature design guidelines, such as Visual Programming, Immersive Authoring, Reutilization, Sharing and Collaboration, Metaphors, and Movement Freedom, among others. The gathered guidelines have the potential to either guide the development of new authoring tools or to evaluate the intuitiveness of existing tools. Furthermore, they can also support the development of the metaverse since virtual content creation is one of its bases.

Mapping Metaverse Research: Identifying Future Research Areas Based on Bibliometric and Topic Modeling Techniques

“…For example, the high frequency of the keyword "virtual" highlights the strong emphasis on the virtual nature of the metaverse and its ability to create immersive digital environments [100]. This is further reinforced by the presence of the keyword "VR" (virtual reality), suggesting that VR technologies play a critical role in the development and exploration of metaverse environments [26,101,102]. Figure 9 depicts the growth dynamics of keywords in the metaverse field, using the keywords field of all selected articles.…”

Evaluating Design Guidelines for Intuitive, Therefore Sustainable, Virtual Reality Authoring Tools

“…In order to foster a more sustainable world, it is imperative not only to expand access to virtual reality experiences but also to empower more individuals with the ability to create them. Developing sustainable virtual reality technology is important for attaining a sustainable future [11].…”

“…In the end, every feature becomes a priority. This issue has previously been addressed, and design guidelines have been compiled to assist software developers in defining authoring tool projects [11]. These guidelines were intended to assist such developers in selecting and formulating the features and requirements that the authoring tools would need to satisfy to be deemed intuitive [18].…”

“…Figure 1 illustrates the information flow when using design guidelines in these two scenarios. Chamusca et al [11] developed and demonstrated the design guidelines as an artifact, but they have not yet been assessed. According to the Design Science Research (DSR) paradigm, it is important to collect evidence that a proposed artifact is useful.…”

“…This study evaluates the validity of fourteen design guidelines for the development of intuitive virtual reality authoring tools [11] by putting them to the test on an example tool: the NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise, verifying qualitatively the use of this artifact in the stage depicted in green in Figure 1. NVIDIA developed the Omniverse, which seeks to shape the 3D internet and open metaverse by providing a platform for the development of industrial metaverse applications in the fields of robotics, scientific computing, architecture, engineering, manufacturing, and industrial digital twins [20].…”