Navigating Panels in Virtual Reality Comics
摘要
The introduction of new immersive technology has opened opportunities for sequential storytelling to move beyond its traditional form to immersive mediums like virtual reality. Comics typically presented in book form are now exploring new media tools, where a computer monitor serves as a dynamic window, often replacing traditional pages and panels. These panels act like windows onto the scene, drawing the reader's attention to specific aspects of the story. In contrast to traditional formats, 360° virtual reality comics offer readers a dynamic and limitless canvas offering navigation freedom. However, this freedom can sometimes distract viewers from the plot, as they become too absorbed in the virtual environment. This dynamic exploration is solely controlled by the viewer, with no input from the creator. This paper adopts a practice-based research approach to adapt a traditional comic into a virtual reality comic to navigate attention within the expansive 360° space and direct their attention to the plot. A virtual reality comic was developed and shown to selected participants using head-mounted displays to gauge the reader's engagement. Results from a participant survey demonstrate readers’ enthusiasm toward virtual reality comics. This study highlights the potential of virtual reality to reshape the reader’s experience of comics.