The Effects of Delayed Interaction Cues in Virtual Reality Training

Xinyu Hu, Alec G. Moore, James Coleman Eubanks, Afham Ahmed Aiyaz, Ryan P. McMahan

Abstract: Interaction cues are commonly used in games and educational systems to direct users to take appropriate actions at particular moments, such as pressing a specific button to start a conversation with a virtual agent. Based on a literature review and a related framework, we identified delayed interaction cues as an underexplored research area. We present a controlled evaluation of the effects of delayed cues in a virtual reality training application. Our results indicate that immediate interaction cues are significantly more efficient than delayed cues. We discuss the implications of our results on the design of interaction cues for future games and educational systems.