Feedback on "First Steps" from an VR demoer

[radlabsteam3]

I do VR development and research as an intern at my university, so I walk a lot of people through their first time in VR. I've seen a lot of people get stuck on the First Steps demo, so I'd like to suggest some feedback on how to improve it.

• Many people get stuck on the first big red button:
  • Many people can't find it. It can appear behind or to the side of them. Sometimes, it can even appear inside the user's torso!
    • Maybe include some arrows around the parameter that point in the direction the player should be facing.
    • If the player's headset is above the button (button is inside player's torso), have a voice clip telling the player to take a few steps back.
  • Many players think they need to press an IRL button on their controller. Even when they see the big red button, they still think they need to press a physical button on the controller to continue.
    • At this point, these players have not been introduced to moving their hands as an input method. They keep their elbows at their sides and don't move at all.
      • I think the older First Contact demo did a great job of introducing hand movement when the player is forced to wave at the robot. I think that before the big red button, First Steps should also include a step the teaches the user to wave. Maybe there could be a mirror, and the player must wave hello to their reflection to continue.
• Many players cannot pick up objects:
  • Picking up an object uses this flow: release grip button > move hand to object > squeeze grip button. A ton of players don't know about the first step; they instead keep the grip button squeezed at all times and cannot grab objects. Instead of eventually realizing the correct flow, they usually get stuck in a loop of trying to scoop up objects using both hands. Either my coworkers and I notice and give them advice, or the player gets frustrated, takes off the headset, and says that VR "just isn't for me."
    • The player should be told more about the first step of this flow. They should be told explicitly that their hand must be open when reaching for an object. Do this a few times because I've seen some people pick up the cube, but then forget how they did it and get stuck.
    • An odd thing I've noticed is that this issue almost never happens in the older First Contact demo. I think FC's wordless approach feels more natural to players than FS's direct explanations. 
  • The controller can slide in the player's hand, messing with the grip and trigger buttons.
    • The controller can move to the point where either of these scenarios happen (ordered most to least common):
      1. trigger: no fingers | grip: index and middle fingers
      2. trigger: index and middle fingers | grip: ring finger
      3. trigger: index, middle, and ring fingers | grip: pinky finger
    • Since the player is essentially wearing a blindfold, they cannot see that they are not pressing the buttons they think they are pressing. This causes a lot of confusion and frustration. 
    • I think that at the very beginning of First Steps, the player should be shown and told how to hold their controllers. Maybe even make a passthrough window around the controllers during this time.
      • A reminder and the and the passthrough window should reappear if it is likely that a controller is being held incorrectly. This both reduces frustration now and hopefully teaches the player to be aware of how they hold their controller in all apps.
        • You could check for scenario 1 by reading the trigger's touch detector. If no finger has touched the trigger in a long time, it is likely that the controller has shifted. I don't have any ideas on how to check for scenario 2 or 3 though.

I really want VR to thrive! First Steps is most people's first impression of VR, so I think it's very important to address any problems a person can have while using it. I've seen so many people get stuck on this demo and give up on VR completely. I wonder if that's a factor in why there are so many lightly used Quests on second-hand markets.

My final feedback is that I think the Beat Saber Demo should be included as one of the cartages a player can use. Beat Saber is a great first impression for VR, so a demo of it would fit First Step's theme well.

[kojack]

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@radlabsteam3 wrote:
I think that at the very beginning of First Steps, the player should be shown and told how to hold their controllers. Maybe even make a passthrough window around the controllers during this time.

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That's a cool idea.

Maybe with the Quest 3 they could have the intro program mostly passthrough at the start while people get used to the controllers and guardian, leaving them in a familiar setting while things are introduced.

(I think maybe the Quest 2 wouldn't work as well for full a passthrough intro, the really low quality could be off-putting to new people. But limited area passthrough like around the controllers as you said would be fine)

I really wish the First Steps dance segment was available stand alone, that's the most fun part.