User VR Experience and Motivation Study in an Immersive 3D Geovisualization Environment Using a Game Engine for Landscape Design Teaching

Resumen

Realistic 3D geovisualization is necessary to facilitate the perception of a landscape designer in relation to the environment, which is a determining factor in decision-making in landscapeplanning and management. In the field of landscape design teaching learning environments, gameengines can offer an immersive 3D geovisualization mode through Virtual Reality technology, which,in addition, can be motivating for the student. Game engines allow designing the scenarios wherevideogames take place, but game engines can also be used for geovisualization tasks in landscapedesign teaching environments. In this article, we present the landscape workshop, using a Unity 3Dgame engine. Twenty-five architect students performed landscape design tasks and worked with aninteractive 3D geovisualization low-immersive desktop screen environment. The perception of the 3Denvironment during geovisualization was analyzed through the Questionnaire on User eXperiencein Immersive Virtual Environments, and the motivational factor with the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory. Results showed a high perception of the 3D environment during geovisualization in the ninesubcategories (sense of presence, engagement, immersion, flow, usability, emotion, judgment, experience consequence, and technology adoption) analyzed. The game engine-based teaching approachcarried out has been motivating for students, with values over 5 (in a 1–7 Likert scale) in the fivesubscales considered.