Problem to solve
Animation is an integral part of storytelling and can make or break an experience. However, in an immersive environment, motion sickness is a very common negative side-effect of animation.
This can include a feeling of seasickness, headaches, general nausea, dizziness, vertigo or even in some cases, vomiting. This happens when there is a mismatch between what is being seen and what is being felt — or in other words, your eyes perceive that you’re moving, but your body doesn’t feel any motion.
How can we add animation to an experience without making people sick?
The Reservoir’s solution
The Quill Theater VR app is a public showcase where people can share their creations or “Quillistrations.” The Reservoir took it a step further and began publishing an animated series.
In this particular scene, there is the motion of you sinking underwater, but most of environment is dark with only highlights of color moving. This is a creative solution to the problem of large motion in the periphery, which is one of the main causes of motion sickness.
Download it and try it
The Reservoir series is available in Quill Theater on the Oculus Quest.
