Abstract
This study explores transition spaces across physical, digital, and virtual environments. From hallways to digital loading screens and virtual portals, these spaces serve as cognitive buffers, aiding users in navigating environmental shifts. Our comparative analysis reveals consistent human experiences across diverse environments, while also identifying distinct attributes of each transition space. We identify two main categories: transition-focused spaces, which emphasize efficient movement, and experience-focused spaces, which offer richer, immersive experiences. We also identify four core transition types: Environmental, Perspective, Identity, and Sensory transitions. Experience-focused spaces, such as lobbies and VR gathering areas, play a pivotal role in facilitating identity transitions. Sensory transitions are present in physical and virtual spaces, but often absent in digital spaces. Our findings highlight the potential of well-designed VR transition spaces, emphasizing their significant influence on immersion, user experience, and virtual social interactions.
Keywords
transition spaces; virtual reality design; user experience; comparative analysis
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.1166
Citation
Sylvia Kim, S., Punnen Mathew, A., and Pino, Z. (2024) Passageways and portals: a comparative analysis of transition spaces in physical, digital, and virtual environments, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.1166
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Passageways and portals: a comparative analysis of transition spaces in physical, digital, and virtual environments
This study explores transition spaces across physical, digital, and virtual environments. From hallways to digital loading screens and virtual portals, these spaces serve as cognitive buffers, aiding users in navigating environmental shifts. Our comparative analysis reveals consistent human experiences across diverse environments, while also identifying distinct attributes of each transition space. We identify two main categories: transition-focused spaces, which emphasize efficient movement, and experience-focused spaces, which offer richer, immersive experiences. We also identify four core transition types: Environmental, Perspective, Identity, and Sensory transitions. Experience-focused spaces, such as lobbies and VR gathering areas, play a pivotal role in facilitating identity transitions. Sensory transitions are present in physical and virtual spaces, but often absent in digital spaces. Our findings highlight the potential of well-designed VR transition spaces, emphasizing their significant influence on immersion, user experience, and virtual social interactions.