Locomotion

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Locomotion are ways to move through the virtual worlds of VR.

Contents

Locomotion Methods

See also: Locomotion Methods
MethodTypeRequired DevicesDescriptionProsConsCreatorExamples
ArmSwingerStanding
Room-scale
Motion-tracked controllersPlayers move by swinging their arms as if they are running but do not move their legs.Works in most types of games and experiences
More immersive than teleportation
Cannot use weapons or perform actions with hands while moving.Http://electricnightowl.com/
Astral bodySeated
Standing
Room-scale
NoneFirst person when you need to interact with the environment, Third person when you need to run around in the environmentEasy to navigate and interact
Clean
Immersion breaking for some???Https://store.steampowered.com/app/751300/Alice Mystery Garden/ Alice Mystery Garden
BlinkStanding
Room-scale
Motion-tracked controllersBuilds upon Teleportation to create 3 more types of movement techniques called Cinematic Blink, Precision Blink and Volume BlinkReduce simulator sickness
Allows for the scaling of play space sizes
???Cloudhead GamesThe Gallery - Episode 1: Call of the Starseed
Bobbing-WalkingStanding
Room-scale
Head-mounted displayBob or shake the HMD to move, you'll need to run or bounce in place to activate the mechanism,??????Http://cubic9.com/ cubic9
Charge Float JumpStanding
Room-scale
Seated
Input DevicesThe longer you hold the jump button, the higher you will rise in the VR space.Crytek
ClimbingSeated
Standing
Room-scale
Motion-tracked controllersPlayers climb up walls, mounts and other objects by swinging their hands and pulling triggers to grab.No VR sicknessCan pretty much only travel verticallyClimbey
The Climb
CloudstepSeatedGamepadUsing the analog stick from a gamepad, players will move in that direction in discreet steps, similar to miniature teleportations. This method removes all vection, hence eliminating simulator sickness with first person locomotion.Reduces simulator sickness and improve player comfort???IrisVR
VR Bits
Technolust
Cockpit / VehicleSeated
Standing
Room-scale
NoneHave a cockpit around the player prevents VR sickness, it allows most players feel they are within a stable environmentReduces VR sicknessOnly applicable in certain situations such as Driving, Spacecraft and Mech games.???Elite Dangerous
Gunjack
EVE: Valkyrie
Environmental RedirectionRoom-scaleNoneDesign the game in a way to allow the player to move in circles in the play area. Players will never hit physical walls of the play area.No artificial locomotion or teleport
No VR sickness
Requires meticulous game design, large play area requirementTriangular PixelsUnseen Diplomacy
FlightSeated
Standing
Room-scale
NoneFly through the air with gaze as directional input.??????Eagle FlightEagle Flight
Focal Point VRSeated
Standing
Room-scale
Motion-tracked controllersTo move small distances, Grip and drag the environment. To move large distances, place 2 focal points on the ground with the controllers then rotate, scale, and translate the world.No VR sickness???Albert Hwang
Freedom Locomotion SystemStanding
Room-scale
Motion-tracked controllersCollection of various standing and room-scale locomotion solutions with CAOTS as its fundation.Https://hugerobotvr.com/ HUGE ROBOT
HMD Position AccelerationSeated
Standing
Room-scale
NoneInitiating movement by looking in the direction you want to go. You tilt your head forward, you move forward. Tilt your head backwards, and you go backwards.Crytek
HallwayRoom-scaleNonePlayer walks down a long hallway that rotates slightly with each step, forcing the player to turn to the right and leading them to walk in circles around the play area.???May cause simulator sickness/u/qwv4851
HandwalkingRoom-scale
Standing
Seated
HTC Vive Motion Controller…a Virtual Reality experience which takes places in planetary dream worlds. You explore artistically designed planets with a completely new concept, defining and navigating your avatar in a distinctive way, using hand motion controllers.Reduced till no VR sickness. Easy to handle. Intuitive. Feels rewarding. Gliding possible.Can only be applied to special movement concepts.Nico UtheLucid Trips
HolosphereSeated
Standing
Room-scale
Motion-tracked controllersWhenever you move or rotate, a geodesic sphere appears around your entire view point and blurs everything else in the environment. The geodesic sphere disappears when you stop moving or rotating.No nauseaGeodesic sphere appears when moving / rotatingTomáš "Frooxius" MariančíkNeos: The Origin
Immersive MovementStanding
Room-scale
Running-in-place
Motion-tracked controllersHold a button on one of the controllers then run in place to move in VR.Can use one of the hands to interact with environment while moving???Https://highsight.itch.io
Lean-To-MoveStanding
Room-scale
Motion-tracked controllersPress a trigger on controller to record your origin, lean beyond the boundary threshold to move in game, return to origin to stopMitigates VR sickness
Frees up the hands while moving
Move for longer without being fatigued
Can drift from center of play area, difficult to turnHttps://github.com/Erupac/LeanToMove
Ninja Run VRSeated
Standing
Room-scale
Motion-tracked controllers in both handsStretch both arms in the opposite direction of your desired movement while lean in the same direction of desired movementNo nausea or motion sicknessTakes time to travel, can be tiring over long distancesSean HallShaolinja
Omnidirectional elevatorRoom-scaleNoneAn elevator that can go in All directionsFun
Simple
Not exhausting
Picky people will claim it makes them feel sick, Players are locked to their elevator.??????
PocketStrafeStanding
Room-scale
Running-in-place
SmartphoneRun PocketStrafe app on the smartphone, place the smartphone in your pocket, run in place to move.Unlike other running-in-place locomotion methods
PocketStrafe frees up the hands and the controllers.
Requires smartphoneHttp://www.coolfont.co/ Cool Font
PullSeated
Standing
Room-scale
Input DevicesPulling the environment around you with your hands.Makes you feel a bit like superman.Feels super awkward, does not work well in multiplayer.??????
RIPmotionStanding
Room-scale
Running-in-place
Motion-tracked controllersPut hands at your hips, press a button on each controller and run in place to moveProprioceptive and vestibular engagement
Immersion
Decouples head and body movement
Fitness
VR sickness reduction
Cannot interact with object with hands while moving,Http://smirkingcat.software/ripmotion/ Ryan Sullivan
Real world spaceRoom-scaleNoneUsers move in real world spaces.Very realistic and immersiveCannot function with large movements, Spaces are often limiting, spaces have to be designed for physical movement??????
Room-scale vehicleRoom-scaleMotion-tracked controllersEntire play space becomes the inside of the vehicle, operate the controls in the vehicle to move the vehicle??????Hover JunkersHover Junkers
IronWolf VR
Shoot'n'PullRoom-scale
Standing
HTC Vive Motion ControllerTower Tag offers an intuitive method of movement which gives the game a very dynamic gaming experience without the risk to cause motion sickness. Despite the relatively small space requirements.No VR sickness. Easy to handle. Intuitive. Feels rewarding.Fits only to one movement concept.VR-Nerds GmbHTower Tag
SkierRoom-scaleMotion-tracked controllersMoving the controllers backwards and below your waist causes the skier to propel himself forward.??????/u/qwv4851
Snap N'MotionRoom-scaleNoneWhen the player is about to hit a wall in real life, the character in VR instantly turns 180 degrees (face backwards). It forces the player to turn around in real life in order to move forward again.Room-scale VR experience with limited physical space.Constantly changing directions can be disorientating and unnatural.RetroPlayGamerTV???
SwimmingStanding
Room-scale
Seated
Motion-tracked controllersHold the triggers on the controllers then stroke or peddle to move.???Only used for water and underwater environments.???Ocean Rift
TeleportationSeated
Standing
Room-scale
NoneLook or point in the direction you want to go and click a button to warp.Intuitive
Understandable
Simple
No VR sickness
Immersion breaking, Exhausting, confusing in move from point A-B puzzle games.???Budget Cuts
Vanishing Realms
The Lab
Third-personSeated
Standing
Room-scale
GamepadPlayer's POV trails comfortably behind their character, works for third-person games with gamepadsVery easy to implement
No need for motion-tracked controllers
Less immersive, can cause VR sicknessLucky's Tale
TunnelingSeated
Standing
GamepadThe face-locked viewport ("tunnel") displays continuous motion and allows the user to steer the player like an FPS-style game. The peripheral view remains at the point of origin, so there is no controller-induced vection in the periphery.Reduces VR sickness when moving with controller / gamepad?????????
WalkAboutRoom-scaleMotion-tracked controllersAfter reaching edge of playable space', virtual world is blurred and grid appears. Virtual world shifts to encompass open play area, forcing player to turn and face it. At this point the virtual world comes back into focus and grid disappears.??????Tekton GamesThe Dark Within
World RotationSeated
Standing
Room-scale
Motion-tracked ControllersYou pull a trigger, then move the controller left or right to rotate the world.Crytek
World RotatorRoom-scaleNoneMoving to the edge of the play area causes time to freeze and locks the world to the player's rotation. A HUD appears and shows the amount of open space in front of the player.??????/u/qwv4851

Problems and Solutions

Sitting

Standing

Room-scale

Locomotion in virtual reality presents many problems and many opportunities to innovate. Aside from traditional input devices like mouse, keyboard and gamepad, the most obvious method of locomotion is simply walking around within the range of the positional tracking devices. One problem presented by "walking" is the available space of the room. Physical obstacles such as walls and objects will prevent the user from advancing. One solution to this problem is a omni-directional treadmill such as Omni. Another option is to use teleportation or elevators to virtually transport the user to a new environment while keeping the physical space the same.

HTC Vive is the first consumer VR Device to offer a room-scale experience. Oculus Rift CV1 and PlayStation VR emphasize more of a seated experience.

Input Devices

Gallery

References