If testers take the headset off after five minutes, this is usually why. Comfort is not polish, it is whether your experience is usable at all.
Frame rate is not negotiable. Missing your headset's target frame rate is the single biggest cause of discomfort. This is why VR optimisation cannot be left until the end: a beautiful scene at half frame rate is worse than a plain one at full rate.
Never move the camera without the player. Cutscenes that fly the view around, camera shake on impact, and animations that reposition the head are all reliable ways to make people ill. If the head moves, it should be because their head moved.
Give the choice on locomotion. Teleport, and smooth movement, and let the player pick. Snap turning in fixed increments is far more comfortable than smooth turning for most people. Offer a vignette that narrows the view during movement; it looks like a compromise and it works.
Keep the horizon stable. Anything that tilts or rolls the world is far worse than moving it forward. Avoid roll entirely unless the whole experience is built around it.
Respect the floor. If your floor height is wrong the whole scene feels subtly off and people lean. Calibrate against the real floor and let players adjust.
Do not put UI too close. Text inside about half a metre is uncomfortable to focus on. Attach menus to the world or the hand, not the face.
Test with people who are not you. Developers acclimatise. After a month in a headset you will not notice things that make a first-timer queasy, so keep finding fresh testers.
What are you building, and are you on smooth locomotion or teleport?
Frame rate is not negotiable. Missing your headset's target frame rate is the single biggest cause of discomfort. This is why VR optimisation cannot be left until the end: a beautiful scene at half frame rate is worse than a plain one at full rate.
Never move the camera without the player. Cutscenes that fly the view around, camera shake on impact, and animations that reposition the head are all reliable ways to make people ill. If the head moves, it should be because their head moved.
Give the choice on locomotion. Teleport, and smooth movement, and let the player pick. Snap turning in fixed increments is far more comfortable than smooth turning for most people. Offer a vignette that narrows the view during movement; it looks like a compromise and it works.
Keep the horizon stable. Anything that tilts or rolls the world is far worse than moving it forward. Avoid roll entirely unless the whole experience is built around it.
Respect the floor. If your floor height is wrong the whole scene feels subtly off and people lean. Calibrate against the real floor and let players adjust.
Do not put UI too close. Text inside about half a metre is uncomfortable to focus on. Attach menus to the world or the hand, not the face.
Test with people who are not you. Developers acclimatise. After a month in a headset you will not notice things that make a first-timer queasy, so keep finding fresh testers.
What are you building, and are you on smooth locomotion or teleport?