Avatar Control and World Interaction in a Non-Visual 3D Gaming Environment

Abstract:
The present paper reports on the implementation and test of an audio haptic gaming environment. This environment was designed with an ears-in-hand interaction technique allowing turning of the ears in combination with an avatar separate from the haptic interaction point. The purpose of this design was to investigate how the additional rotational degrees of freedom influenced the interaction. The results of the study showed that the additional rotation was sometimes perceived as confusing, although we note that an ears-in-hand tool that can be toggled on or off could still be useful. We also report other qualitative observations which may have influence on the future design of this type of environments.