Computing Reviews
Today's Issue Hot Topics Search Browse Recommended My Account Log In
Review Help
Search
The VR book: human-centered design for virtual reality
Jerald J., Association for Computing Machinery and Morgan & Claypool, New York, NY, 2016. 635 pp. Type: Book
Date Reviewed: Aug 15 2016

This is an important moment for the field of virtual reality (VR) research given the recent large-scale release of several consumer-oriented systems. Virtual reality technologies, sometimes called mixed realities, encompass much more than the latest generation of products with some applications the reader may find surprising. Consumer availability of low-latency sensors and high-quality display systems is enabling a new generation of VR products. Those in the fields of simulation, entertainment, and education are already investing considerable resources in these new platforms. Despite the recent surge in interest, there is still not much clarity as to what sorts of design considerations should be taken for development of both hardware and virtual spaces.

Into this space steps Jason Jerald and his book The VR book: human-centered design for virtual reality to give a broad overview of the history, the state of the art, and design principles for VR. This book is generally accessible to a novice and would likely be useful to someone studying design or game development. Its textbook format with seven major parts lends itself to sampling of relevant sections for a variety of curricula.

Part 1 gives a broad overview of the field, surprisingly dating as far back as the 1800s. Providing clarity as to the types of virtual reality and augmented realities and the historical precedent of their applications is helpful for understanding the progression of the technology. The author highlights the importance of immersiveness and increased presence in these environments.

Part 2 broadly focuses on human sensation and perception and the process of producing a believable facsimile to these fundamental elements of experience. While most types of virtual reality focus on vision and sound, touch, smell, taste, and proprioception also are ways in which one could interface with a virtual space.

Part 3 offers insight into some of the potential adverse acute and chronic effects of virtual reality usage. This section also gives recommendations on how to avoid these effects.

Part 4 provides a more detailed explanation of content creation in virtual reality spaces. This section highlights the paradigm shift that virtual reality design will cause in media and the disruptive impacts of the technology.

In Part 5, the author explores interfaces and the complexities of how users will interact with these systems. It is evident that many of the input devices currently in use will be inadequate for virtual reality spaces.

Part 6 explains the iterative design process of define, make, learn and how it is best applied to virtual reality development while highlighting the various roles one could play in a virtual reality development team.

Part 7 is a summary of the state of the art, assessment of the virtual reality community, and some speculative closing thoughts as to possible directions of the field.

Overall, this book provides a thorough review of what is known to date about VR and sound recommendations for the development process. Furthermore, almost any field that could possibly be informed by research or design for virtual reality is addressed in this book including the implications of physiology, aesthetics, and research methods. If anything, there are aspects of this overview that are too broad.

A book of this nature may have been timed early given that there are so many unknowns. VR sickness was an inevitable part of older, higher-latency systems. Dramatic gains of late in the responsiveness of these systems have mitigated many of the issues. Because of this, the field is at a moment of uncertainty where the historical precedent of research seems especially dated. While there is much discussion in this book about virtual reality sickness, it would seem that much of that research came from less capable systems than those available today. As such, it is not yet clear what the real long-term effects of current-generation virtual reality are. Furthermore, considerable space is given to understanding the physiological effects of VR; however, little attention was paid to the potential psychological effects of this type of usage.

Nonetheless, this book generally achieves what the author intended, and it serves as a good point of entry into design for virtual reality.

More reviews about this item: Amazon

Reviewer:  Zachary Alstad Review #: CR144688 (1611-0787)
Bookmark and Share
  Reviewer Selected
 
 
Artificial, Augmented, And Virtual Realities (H.5.1 ... )
 
 
User-Centered Design (H.5.2 ... )
 
Would you recommend this review?
yes
no
Other reviews under "Artificial, Augmented, And Virtual Realities": Date
Cyberspace
Benedikt M. (ed), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991. Type: Book (9780262023276)
Dec 1 1992
Knowledge-based augmented reality
Feiner S. (ed), MacIntyre B., Seligmann D. Communications of the ACM 36(7): 53-62, 1993. Type: Article
Aug 1 1994
Playing God
Roehl B., Waite Group Press, Corte Madera, CA, 1994. Type: Book (9781878739629)
Mar 1 1995
more...

E-Mail This Printer-Friendly
Send Your Comments
Contact Us
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.   Copyright 1999-2024 ThinkLoud®
Terms of Use
| Privacy Policy