Uncanny Valley Game in Virtual Environments

Abstract

Nowadays, as VR technology is developing at an incredible rate, related topics such as the virtual environment, mobile equipment for VR, and metaverse are also becoming hot topics. The article will be depicting the process of researching the Uncanny Valley theory's demonstration in the virtual environment. We created a horror virtual reality game that simulates the environment in real life. In the early stage of making the game, we first discussed how to set a proper story background for the game to put in the environment we want for testing the theory. We got our inspiration from "Backroom". Based on our inspiration, we determined the art style of our game, and later, in 3D modeling parts, we designed several monsters. After finishing all the modeling and programming parts, we tested them in our group. Finally, we released it to the public with a questionnaire to test the public's response. After analyzing the collected data, most people will feel a feeling of horror with the environment we create. We can conclude that the Uncanny Valley theory might still be suitable for the virtual environment. It can show that the Uncanny Valley theory might suit more scales than we think. And for VR experiences, we can use this theory to better create a scary scene or experience, which could be used in in-game making or VR filmmaking.