Zenctuary VR: Simulating Nature in an Interactive Virtual Reality Application: Description of the design process of creating a garden in Virtual Reality with the aim of testing its restorative effects.

Abstract

In this paper we present the design process of a virtual reality experience the aim of which is to have a restorative effect on users. In the simulated natural site, the user can interact with some elements of the environment and can also explore the view. We describe how we tried to create a more realistic sense of nature by relying on high quality graphics, the use of free-roaming space, and naturalistic interactions. During the design process we avoided gameful interactions and instead created playful interactions, while also relying on the multimodal aspect of the virtual reality technology.