Analysing the connection between the strength of emotional reaction invoked within a video game player and the presence of virtual reality technology

This thesis examines the potential connection between emotional responses in video games and the presence of virtual reality technology. This connection could establish whether video games can better affect their players’ emotions via the use of the technology. A short video game prototype was designed and developed to invoke feelings of fear and anxiety in players which could be used both with and without virtual reality technology. A trial was then created to measure participants’ emotional responses as they played both prototypes and the results were then compared and contrasted via one-way ANOVA tests. Alongside this, information about the participants’ experience with video games, virtual reality and horror-based content was recorded to establish any potential connection between this experience and their reaction to virtual reality technology. The results of the trials would suggest that virtual reality can cause greater emotional reactions in video games and that certain groups of players are more susceptible to the technology than others, but these reactions are not always consistent and are not always statistically significant