A scientific research investigates how much the odor of decomposing human remains contributes to the sensation of immersion in a popular virtual reality horror game.
Do the most severe computer games that deal with the deadliest issues require extra player incentives in the form of the stench of decaying bodies? Here's what science has to say about it.

According to a recent study, virtual reality video games can come to life with fragrances that are tailored to the action.

Volunteers were given the option of playing the computer game Resident Evil 7 Biohazard in Virtual Reality (VR) with or without fragrances that enhanced certain aspects of the game.

The advertising trailer for the game has multiple warnings regarding the game's age limit (17+ years of age) and cautions about violent scenes, violence of all types, and the use of swear words, indicating that this is a game that is definitely not for everyone.

Objects with strong odors, such as rotting food, smoke, and decaying heads, are included in scenes in that horror game. Scientists have shown that adding aroma to a gaming setting boosts a player's sensation of presence.

Scientists from the Australian government's CSIRO and Sydney University of Technology collaborated on the research.

According to Australian experts, virtual reality systems deliver great audio-visual experiences for users, but they often overlook olfactory (olfactory) indications that might convey extra information about our real-world environment.

Overall, the findings suggest that introducing scent to a virtual reality environment had a substantial impact on psychological and physiological experiences, demonstrating that fragrance improved the VR environment, they say.

The researchers gathered 22 people who played Resident Evil 7 in a virtual reality setting for the study. Thirteen of the participants had prior VR experience, whereas only three had never played a video game. Only one of the participants has played Resident Evil 7.

While the participants were playing the computer game, they were also exposed to fragrances created by an olfactometer, which supplied scents through a soft plastic tube placed under their nostrils.

To accentuate the impression of being in the woods, one of the volatile chemicals was cis-3-hexen-1-ol, an oily liquid that smells like newly cut grass.

The other was dimethyl trisulfide, a bacterial breakdown product that may be seen in the early phases of human tissue disintegration.

Participants saw the identical virtual reality environment twice, once with and once without olfactory stimulation.

Participants completed a questionnaire immediately after each play to measure their'sense of presence' in the play (a sensation of being in a certain place or time period) as well as their sense of immersion in each scene.

For each game, half of the players had their physiological parameters, heart rate, body temperature, and electrodermal skin activity taken. The term "electrodermal activity" refers to variations in the skin's resistance to low electrical current caused by sweat gland activity.

The results demonstrated that adding scents to a VR environment greatly boosted participants' sensation of spatial presence when compared to an unscented VR environment.

Participants also judged the reality of the VR experience with odor higher than the realism of the VR experience without odor; however, the fragrance had no effect on the participants' emotional state (excitement, pleasure, and dominance).

Furthermore, the addition of odor impacted the physiological reactions of the subjects. According to Australian researchers, perfumes may be used to 'create a more striking experience to boost a person's presence in a virtual reality environment.'

They concluded that the findings have a broader use for virtual environments for training and rehabilitation of virtual reality exposure, in addition to gaming.

The research was published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One.
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