The effects of context-sensitive tutorials in virtual reality games

Virtual reality (VR) devices have become popular in recent time due to the release of several consumer grade VR devices. Currently games are considered one of the primary use cases for VR. Game mechanics in VR games frequently work differently compared to non-VR games. However, there is no prevalent way how to teach game mechanics and game interaction to players in VR games. In this work we implemented a VR wave shooter game with two variants of a tutorial. We conducted a user study (n = 39) examining the effects of a context-sensitive tutorial on players' experience compared to a traditional instruction screen tutorial. The results show that the context-sensitive tutorial elicited higher positive emotions, lower negative emotions, and higher motivation while immersion and performance were comparable. These findings highlight that tutorials should not be seen as a separate introduction to a game but part of the overall experience as they can directly influence the players' experience.