A VR game to teach underwater sustainability while diving

Abstract

We developed a game in virtual reality to make players experience an underwater environment and to increase their awareness towards a sustainable behaviour while diving. The game was tested with the Presence Questionnaire during a Science Festival in November 2016. The assumption was that a high degree of presence due to their immersion into the virtual environment would enhance players' empathy for the marine environment and, as a consequence, would make them more sensitive to sustainability and environmental issues related to diving. Our data show that players across various age categories did indeed feel immersed and involved in the game. However, we could not specifically test whether their level of environmental awareness had increased after playing this game.