The aim of the study is to analyze occasional users' experiences of visiting a virtual environment. The phenomenographical study consists of user tests and user interviews. The user test includes 6 users, 3 men and 3 women of different ages with no previous knowledge of VR-technology. The test process for each person consists of three visits to a Cave-like environment using four different applications. All the test users found VE impressive and enjoyed visiting it. However, they found moving in a virtual space problematic. They felt uncomfortable, even sick and they got lost. The findings indicate that there are both technical and human issues in using VE as a design tool for occasional users. Moving in VE can be improved by technical development, as well as by better planning of occasional users' visits to VE, considering users' learning process during the visit.
['Tarja Tiainen', 'Tarja Katajamaki', 'Asko Ellman', 'Taina Kaapu']
Occasional Users' Experiences of Visiting a Virtual Environment