Exploring the SoundVizVR Plugin in the Development of Sound-Accessible Virtual Reality Games: Insights from Game Developers and Players

Based on a virtual reality (VR) sound visualization indicator system named “SoundVizVR” proposed and evaluated in previous research, we developed a plugin for the Unity platform, enabling developers to adopt the SoundVizVR system in their VR applications and games. Next, we worked with two VR game developers to explore the usability of the plugin and how it impacted the view on accessibility from the game developers’ perspectives. The developers used the plugin for 1 week to integrate it into their current projects or design new games with the plugin. Then, we recruited 10 deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) participants and 5 hearing participants to play the 2 developed VR games to evaluate the user experience and effectiveness of the SoundVizVR system in advancing audio accessibility in VR games. According to the findings of the study process, we provide game design practices for making sounds in VR games accessible and suggestions on optimizing the developers’ and players’ experiences of a sound accessibility plugin for the Unity platform.