Enhancing spatial memory with a serious game: VR headset versus smartphone setups

Abstract People use spatial memory in everyday life tasks, e.g., to remember a path they followed or where they previously placed an object. With the goal of training spatial memory, we developed a Virtual reality (VR) serious game in two versions (immersive and non-immersive). The non-immersive version is played on a smartphone and supports gyroscope and touchscreen interaction, while the immersive version is played on a VR headset and supports interaction with tracked controllers. We conducted an evaluation with 45 users to contrast the two versions of the serious game, measuring players’ performance and experience, usability, and sense of presence. Moreover, to assess the effects on spatial memory, we compared errors and execution times of a real-world task that tests spatial memory before and after using the serious game. Statistically significant differences between the two versions of the serious game were found in the number of game levels completed (greater with the smartphone) and in sense of presence (greater with the VR headset). After playing the serious game, there was a statistically significant improvement in the performance of the real-world spatial memory task regardless of the version used.