Why Do You Get Motion Sickness When Playing 3D Games? [Juhyung Lim's Tech Talk]

Dizziness Caused by Flashy 3D Graphics Disrupting Balance
Worsened by Wearing VR Headsets... A Barrier to the 4th Industrial Revolution
Global Companies and Research Institutes Accelerate Development of Motion Sickness Relief Technologies

On the afternoon of October 2 last year, citizens visiting the 'Korea VR Festival' held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are experiencing a VR roller coaster. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] When playing computer graphics-intensive 3D games, sometimes your eyes may feel tired, your head dizzy, or you may experience nausea. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as '3D motion sickness,' which is mainly felt when looking around in a first-person perspective or rapidly rotating the field of view.

3D motion sickness varies greatly from person to person. In severe cases, people may feel dizzy or vomit, while others can enjoy 3D graphics without any symptoms. An interesting fact is that younger people tend to report 3D motion sickness more often.

According to a paper published in the American scientific journal "Optometry and Vision Science," a research team from Pacific University College of Optometry in Oregon, USA, conducted a study on 203 adults watching 3D videos and found that the 24-34 age group reported more 3D motion sickness compared to older age groups.

Why do people feel 3D motion sickness? The exact reason has not yet been clearly identified.

However, synthesizing various research data suggests that it is a kind of dissonance phenomenon caused by the difference between the information the optic nerve receives from computer graphics and the actual position of the human body.

First-person shooter game 'Overwatch' screen. / Photo by Blizzard website capture

When playing 3D games, the in-game field of view often shakes or rotates. In the latest graphic games with motion blur effects (where fast-moving objects appear blurred), this shaking feels even more pronounced.

Although our eyes perceive the shaking in virtual reality, the body remains fixed while sitting on a chair, which inevitably disrupts the sense of balance, causing confusion in the brain.

This is similar to why we suddenly feel motion sickness when riding on a boat or car with severe shaking.

3D motion sickness is also one of the major challenges hindering the Fourth Industrial Revolution. One of the features of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is the pursuit of convergence between reality and information communication technology through virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), but wearing essential VR headsets often intensifies 3D motion sickness.

Wearing a VR headset. / Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

When experiencing 3D motion sickness while playing games or watching movies with VR devices, you can simply turn off the device for a while. However, if dizziness caused by 3D motion sickness occurs in industrial settings, it could potentially lead to serious accidents.

For this reason, global companies and research institutions are dedicating significant efforts to developing technologies that eliminate 3D motion sickness.

For example, Sony, a Japanese gaming console and IT company, disclosed a patent for VR motion sickness prevention technology to the World Intellectual Property Organization on May 7. The core of the technology is a device attached to VR goggles that applies vibrations to the wearer’s head to minimize motion sickness.

Domestic researchers have also unveiled technology to reduce VR motion sickness. In July, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in Korea developed a content editing tool called 'VR Set' that allows adjustment of various elements of VR graphics.

VR Set is a tool that analyzes and adjusts in detail factors affecting VR motion sickness, such as viewpoint height, background graphics, camera movement complexity, camera movement speed, and acceleration, to minimize motion sickness.