1 Abstract Current endeavors in the tech-industry to create the first true metaverse, alongside other things, sparked the emergence of interest around virtual avatars, namely in the NFT community. Given the complexity of design-challenges associated with creating an immersive metaverse, its avatars and the systems they evolve around, this paper aims to understand user desires and motivational patterns for avatar selection in VRChat, a game that resembles much of what a future metaverse could look like. Therefore, nine qualitative interviews with a random sample of VRChat users were conducted. The number of participants was limited due to time constraints, and the results hence might be skewed towards a certain perspective; also, with the risk of users not answering truthfully, et cetera. In a broad sense, the key results validated Lin & Wang’s (2014) four motivational patterns of avatar creation (Virtual Exploration, Social Navigation, Identity Representation and Contextual Adaptation), however with significant differences and nuances within those, indicating important subtypes for each category. Preceding research however did not take into account the effects that apply to users employing advanced VR equipment. Statements from such participants in fact suggest the existence of a fifth dimension (Physical Sensation - the “feeling” of an avatar), possibly caused by a heightened sense of presence (due to using said equipment). On this note, the widespread implementation of mirrors in VRChat worlds, along with the discovery of what players described as “mirror-dwelling”, might also have a serious impact on this phenomenon. Furthermore, the results matched concepts such as the Proteus Effect and Deindividuation theory.

This study explore how different forms of embodied experiences in virtual reality can be explained. Virtual reality (VR) is a quickly emerging, although understudied field that in the last decade have come to take a bigger and bigger part in everyone’s daily life. With the rise of virtual reality new possibilities for social platforms in VR have emerged, one of these is the virtual world of VRChat. This paper aims to give an introduction to the world of VRChat, through looking at how different embodied practises take place in it. It is based on a two-month long ethnographic fieldwork in the world of VRChat, following at a group of around 20 individuals scattered around the world and their experiences of embodiment in VRChat. This paper looks at how different forms of embodiment take place in VRChat and how these forms of embodiment affect different aspects of being in a virtual world. I study how mirrors and avatars through embodiment and interplay of different agencies create identity and a sense of ‘me’ amongst users in VRChat. I look at how embodiment connects to immersion and how it bridges the gap between reality and virtuality, through the translation of the sense touch in virtual reality to real life a. I see that a non-traditional form of immersion plays a big role in creating this phenomenon which is called phantom sense

The purpose of this research study was to research and present data on social interaction in VR, specifically in the game VRChat. The aim of the study was to get a better understanding of social interaction in VRChat and contribute additional knowledge on the subject. The research primarily focused on VRChat users’ own experiences, thoughts, and perspectives on social interaction in VRChat. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews and an ethnographic field study that was conducted in VRChat among VRChat users. The research also present and discuss findings from different aspects of social interaction in VRChat. The results of the research consist of themes and common patterns from VRChat users’ own experiences, thoughts, and perspectives on social interaction in VRChat, as well as observations from within the game.

Virtual Reality is rapidly growing in popularity. This new medium offers manypossibilities for those who wish to explore what the technology provides in the 3Denvironment. However, the design principles that have been used for decades revolvearound 2D surfaces and applying them in the 3D space can cause severalincompatibility issues that diminishes the user experience.This study aimed to help highlight what aspects of virtual reality need to be improvedcompared to non-virtual reality platforms to enhance the user experience. To do this,VRChat, a virtual reality platform was chosen, which can be used by both VR, and nonVR headset users alike. By comparing these two user bases it could help highlight thepros and cons of the current system and help give guidelines on how to create futureVR platforms. During the test period, 58 people participated who did specific tasks onthe platform and filled out the quantitative data gathering survey, based on the UserExperience Questionnaire (UEQ) test.After comparing the two user bases, the result shows that there is no significantdifference between using VRChat either way allowing both user bases to enjoy theplatform equally. However, because of these results, the work failed to highlight whataspects of a VR platform need to be changed to fit the needs of VR headset users. Itimplies the need for further research and experimenting with the medium. In the future,further research, testing and experimentation are needed to improve the current designmodels and make the systems more pleasant for VR headset users.