Due to the nature of alternate realities and the levels of immersion they can create, it is important to consider the psychological factors involved when using, assessing or designing these experiences.

This is especially important if you’re creating any kind of safety or incident training.

Motion sickness is one of the most common negative side-effects of VR experiences. 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 see that you’re moving, but your body doesn’t feel any motion.

It is very important to take this problem seriously and ensure that the experiences we create have precautions in place to reduce the possibility or risk of sickness.

When designing UI elements and interfaces within a virtual environment, real-world physical ergonomics should be taken into consideration. Be sure to keep head rotations within comfortable ranges — especially when using gaze targeting, or for longer durations or more repetitive tasks.

Spending time in a virtual environment can be physically tiring for people who aren’t used to it. Be sure to consider the length of time people will spend in the headset for your application, and design the environment and interactions with physical ergonomics in mind. They also may need to stop at any time for any number of reasons from sickness to fatigue, or for some other work or life-related need. Give them an easy way to do so.

Remember to keep in mind that the real physical environment still impacts the experience you’re creating within the headset. For example, the user may be wearing a headset in an environment where they’re sitting in a fixed chair with limited mobility. Or they may be in a crowded event setting, or a limited physical space at the workplace. Be sure to design with the physical environment of the consumer or target audience in mind.

It’s important to keep in mind that the real physical environment still impacts the experience you’re creating within the headset. And while we can’t always control the environment people will be using, there will be times when we can influence or fully control it depending on the situation.