Bookwander
Bookwander is a VR experience which focuses on exploring, designing and implementing four different approaches for reading fiction in VR in an immersive way. These approaches contain passages from the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne.
This VR experience was a product of my master's thesis practical part, and became a basis for my PhD topic. The research and prototype were described in a long paper and officialy published in
ICIDS 2023 Conference Proceedings - Interactive Storytelling.
ICIDS 2023 Conference Proceedings - Interactive Storytelling.
The Approaches in the Prototype
Approach (1): Power of the Text
The first approach uses the technique of kinetic typography to enhance the text representation. The story is presented in lines, not paragraphs, that are displayed in front of the reader. Based on the events in the story, some of the lines are aptly animated. The reader is located in an abstract environment accompanied by ambient music.
Approach (2): Selective Imagery
The second approach uses a panel with scrollable paragraphs for the text representation. The panel with paragraphs floats in an abstract environment in front of the reader. Some paragraphs are paired with illustrations, which the reader can manually display. Additionally, the colour palette of the environment changes automatically when the reader passes some specific paragraphs.
Approach (3): Scenic Reading
The third approach aims to create the highest level of visual absorption across all approaches in this prototype. Therefore, the environment is designed based on the events in the story. The challenge was to create visuals that give the reader the most plausible feeling of presence, but they should not restrict the subjective imagination of the reader. In this approach the readers interact only with the text.
Approach (4): Interactive Reading
The fourth approach combines reading and digital games. The main concept is to read while solving an easy puzzle game, where the readers can complete a scene on a table by placing objects there. These objects are paired with some of the paragraphs; therefore, this puzzle aims to make the reader think about the paragraph and associate the described situation with one of the available objects. If the paragraph and object are connected, and the object is placed on the table, they become highlighted by the same colour. Moreover, the reader can then teleport to the scene they built and continue in the story. The reader can interact with the placed objects to display the paragraph they were connected to, which allows the reader to remind themselves of the previous events.
The Making of Bookwander
All visuals are my creation.
Usually they were a combination of traditional drawings and digital post-production.
The final sceneries were assembled in Unity.
The prototype was developed for Oculus Quest 2.
The final sceneries were assembled in Unity.
The prototype was developed for Oculus Quest 2.
The Impressions from the User Study
Overall
“If I would go in the direction, like, really want to read a book through this media, I would go rather between the second and third approaches. I do have this surrounding which is helping me to merge into this world, but without any movement and interaction, because when I’m reading a book, I really just want to read. But if I want somethingmore, some entertainment, then I would go something between the third and fourth approaches. It really depends on what my goal is [for reading] when I’m playing this.”
“Often, when I read books, I have some music on in the background, and it sometimes irritates me that I read a slow scene in the book, and when the music is full of beats, it destroys my focus. But in this case, it is so nicely combined”.
Power of the Text: The reactions were mostly positive.
I sometimes I get too confused by the text when I’m reading it, and I’m skipping lines.
But now I feel that I cannot skip these lines because they are not there.
So, I need to concentrate on the text. And when the text is also interactive, it catches your attention,
and you can visualise [the ideas better].
But now I feel that I cannot skip these lines because they are not there.
So, I need to concentrate on the text. And when the text is also interactive, it catches your attention,
and you can visualise [the ideas better].
“…when the text started to be in the different fonts and with some different animation,
I was more curious about the animation and about these different changes than in the text itself.”
I was more curious about the animation and about these different changes than in the text itself.”
Selective Imagery: Most participants claimed that this approach resembled traditional reading because of the text represented in paragraphs and using illustrations. Apart from reading fiction, possible uses were suggested to be for learning languages or education.
“In the second approach, whenever there was a picture, it fit really well with the text.
It also provided this brief pause when I could think about what I just read”
It also provided this brief pause when I could think about what I just read”
“…and in [approach] number two, I remember the illustrations more than the text.
But because the illustrations were illustrating the text, I now remember the text as well.”
But because the illustrations were illustrating the text, I now remember the text as well.”
“I felt this inner tension: do I want to read the paragraph first or show the picture, what should I do first?
So that made me distracted a lot.”
So that made me distracted a lot.”
Scenic Reading: This approach was the favourite amongst all participants. They all agreed that this approach uses the potential of VR the most while still keeping the main focus on reading the text. It was considered the most immersive experience.
“I really love to have the environment around me and then I really feel immersed to the story…
I think this one resembles the most the feeling… when… what I have around me when I imagine what is around me,
that it absorbs me and I have the feeling I am in the middle of the situation…”
I think this one resembles the most the feeling… when… what I have around me when I imagine what is around me,
that it absorbs me and I have the feeling I am in the middle of the situation…”
Interactive Reading: The fourth approach was the most controversial one. Because of its experimental nature, the participants reacted very differently. Despite that, most of the readers liked the main concept, but some subjects completely hated it or considered it chaotic.
“The fourth one was interesting because I had to decipher the picture, the object, and then I read the paragraph, of course, and then imagine the scene and then connect the scene with the picture, with the object. I think it made me think more about the paragraph.”
“It was a bit confusing for me if I’m supposed to place the object somehow correctly…”
“I am not sure if I was reading very properly in this chapter because most of the time it was kind of like a quest for me.”
Prospects for the Future
The pilot study received positive feedback, but it also revealed controversial features, particularly interaction. Future work can explore further ways in which interaction can be combined with various design approaches in a non-distractive manner so that it still enhances the reading experience.
Results suggest that VR can create a distraction-free environment that intensifies the feeling of transportation while reading fiction, which can be achieved by using various audiovisual elements. It is also intriguing to identify the possible effects of these audiovisual elements in VR on mental imagery, how they can intensify (or reduce) the impact of the written narrative, and how they influence the way the experiencers remember or comprehend the story.
