A Metamodel for Immersive Gaming Experiences in Virtual Reality

Due to the increasing adoption of specialized hardware, the development of novel gaming experiences in virtual reality (VR) has gained traction. Despite the popularity that VR has achieved so far, it is still not clear how to address the design of immersion, which is critical for providing meaningful, enjoyable, and engaging experiences in VR video games. Aiming to bridge this gap, in this paper we reviewed the recent literature in this domain and formalized it as a conceptual metamodel for analyzing and designing meaningful gaming experiences in VR. The main dimensions addressed in this metamodel interrelate user, software, and hardware components, explicitly addressing immersion and player involvement. We argue that the proposed metamodel can be useful to both researchers and designers interested in conceiving immersive, innovative, and engaging VR gaming experiences.