Reimagining Warfare in Virtual Reality: Innovative Narrative and Gameplay in War-Themed VR Design

This paper aims to develop a war-themed virtual reality (VR) game that breaks away from traditional VR immersion approaches through innovative narrative and gameplay design methods. The game, titled Dove of Peace, symbolically journeys from war to peace, allowing players to experience warfare from the perspective of a cannonball and ultimately transform into a dove, a symbol of peace. The game design encompasses three playable stages: initially, players control a flying shell, then they locate a dove through sound tracing, and finally, they fly over the battlefield as a dove, witnessing the restoration of war-torn areas. Experimental results indicate that while the game excels in emotional resonance and innovation, there is room for improvement in visual performance, immersion, and comfort. Player feedback, collected through quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews, reveals that the game successfully prompts profound reflections on war through its narrative and innovative design.