Recent advances in face-tracking technology have made it possible to recognise head movements using a commodity web-camera. This development has created exciting possibilities for enhancing player enjoyment during computer game play. In order to ascertain the real-world potential for head gestural input to First Person Shooter games, we have developed seven diverse interaction techniques and integrated these with a modern games engine. Evaluation of the techniques was carried out with four focus groups made up of expert games developers and experienced end-users. One of the techniques was further refined and subjected to a follow-up comparison test with promising results. A set of guidelines for the future development of head interaction techniques for computer games has been derived from the studies. All of the techniques have been built upon freely available software and open-sourced to encourage further research in this area.

A presentation exploring the potential of using face tracking in an engineering context. Uses include using head-coupled-perspective to create a greater sense of depth to aid in viewing 3D models.

In light of recent advances made in the field of computer vision, it is possible to reliably track a user's head position using an off-the-shelf web camera. Whilst such an advance is exciting due to how commonplace cameras now are in desktop setups, the potential of this new input technique is largely unexplored.

In effort to rectify this, our work looked to systematically explore the commercial interaction space for head gesturing. In particular, we focused on their use in augmenting traditional input for first-person-shooter computer games, in an effort to increase user enjoyment through promoting greater levels of presence and realism. We developed 6 techniques which consisted of; zooming, peering, spinning, looking down the barrel of the weapon, a fishbowl effect, and replicating the appearance of a hand-held camera. A demonstration of these techniques can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWkpdtFZoBE

These techniques were analysed using several focus groups, during which both game developers and end-users were represented. From this study, the handy-cam technique was found to have immediate commercial potential without the need to modify the game content. Likewise, the peering and zooming techniques were shown to have potential, but it was felt that the game content would need to be focused around their use, to ensure their success. A follow up user study confirmed part these results, by showing that most participants preferred the use of the handycam technique over a standard setup. Through showing this, we have demonstrated that head tracking can be used to enhance computer games.

A previous paper [Schou and Gardner 2007] has described a project to port a games engine into a two-walled Immersive Projection Theatre (IPT) and to interact with that environment using the Nintendo "Wii" Remote. In the present work, we update this project to describe how Wii controllers have now been demonstrated to work with a custom-built, multiple "Sensor Bar" array to achieve a greater coverage of the IPT.

The Nintendo Wii Remote is having a huge impact on the computer games industry. This paper describes a project which is integrating this controller into a game environment in a multi-wall virtual reality theatre. Aspects considered include interaction taxonomies of the Wii controller, the extension of driver software to have the Wii controller deal with multiple Sensor Bars at once, and the porting of the game engine into the virtual reality theatre.

Mainstream technologies are evolving ever closer to the quality generally associated with the field virtual reality (VR). With the average screen size and quality increasing, computer games providing richer and more realistic environments, and gesture systems becoming more common place, this thesis poses the question, "can virtual reality gain anything from these mainstream technologies?" In addressing this thought, we pose the more specific question, "can mainstream technologies such as a games engine and modern controller be ported to an virtual reality theatre in order to construct a more involving and immersive experience?"

In answering this question, this thesis explores the difficulties of combining these technologies and bringing them to a virtual reality theatre.

It commences with an exploration of technologies viable for creating a virtual environment and concludes on the use of the Wedge VR theatre as a display device, the Nintendo Wiimote as the control device, and the use of the Source game engine to support the functions of the virtual world, including the audio and visuals. In choosing these technologies, it is hoped they can provided immersive visuals, intuitive control and a realistic environment that includes believable characters and a physics systems to be witnessed in the field of virtual reality for one of the first times.

The Wiimote is then analysed to determine some best practises for its use and to calculate some of its physical qualities. From these qualities, it is shown that five sensor bars are required to allow the Wiimote to work naturally within the Wedge space. This discovery then dictates the majority of the development work, namely, the need for a driver allowing the Wiimote to span multiple sensor bars, as well as the construction of five sensor bars. Additionally, the Source engine is modified to allow it to run naturally within the Wedge, and to facilitate the use of Wiimote by incorporating some of the findings from the analysis.

Finally, the project concludes with a preliminary user study conducted on the developed environment. This study shows the environment to be successful, and in doing so, demonstrates that computer game technologies can be used successfully to facilitate immersion and involvement. As a supplementary finding, it also shown that the multi–sensor bar approach taken to incorporating the Wiimote in a VR theatre is a viable solution which could be adopted by future VR work.