Understanding User Experience in the Metaverse

Abstract

Despite its growing popularity, the understanding of user experience in the metaverse is limited. In-depth interviews were conducted in a comparative context between gamers and metaverse users to understand their experience in the medium, and NVivo software was used to analyze the findings with Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory as a framework. While most of the flow antecedents and flow outcomes were intact, the ‘skill' aspect of flow seems to be different in metaverse, compared to gaming. Aspects such as ease of use, speed, vividness were felt highly by those familiar with metaverse, whereas the gamers more frequently used the medium and found it stimulating and trustworthy. The study offers rich perspectives for metaverse designers, ad agencies, marketing practitioners, and media personnel.