Are Virtual Reality Serious Games Safe for Children? Design Keys to Avoid Motion Sickness and Visual Fatigue

Abstract

Designing serious games in virtual reality (VR) may raise a health and safety concern as to whether children should use this technology. This paper attempts to clarify this issue by studying VR impact on children’s physical, cognitive and psychosocial development. With a supervised and controlled use over time, it is found that VR could cause physical problems as motion sickness and visual fatigue. To avoid these issues, a series of VR design guidelines are collected so researchers can follow them to develop serious games for children. To avoid motion sickness, developers have to: 1) regulate free movement in the virtual environment and add visual effects or references, 2) help to maintain a stable body posture during the game, 3) bring interactive objects closer and allow their manipulation in non-gravity condition, 4) adjust the difficulty of the tasks and make them as interactive as possible, and 5) implement quality visual and sound content. Regarding the reduction of visual fatigue, developers need to: 1) regulate and supervise the game time, 2) choose an HMD that offers good graphic definition, and 3) design the user interface to be easily understandable and legible.