Gamified Virtual Reality: Training, Treating and Feeling - The Fun, Functional and Human Factors

In recent years, Virtual Reality has transitioned from niche and technologically limited applications into a powerful, affordable and sophisticated ecosystem for human development. This evolution is driven by the convergence of high-fidelity hardware and the psychological principles of Gamification - the application of game-design elements in non-game contexts. When these two forces meet, they create a unique medium capable of simulating complex realities that are too dangerous, expensive, or physically impossible to recreate in the real world.This topic addresses three pillars of current and future VR gamified experiences:• Training (The Functional): VR has redefined Experiential Learning. By providing a high-fidelity environment where users can "fail safely", it facilitates the acquisition of both hard technical skills (e.g., surgery, emergency response) and soft skills (e.g., leadership, conflict resolution). The research focus here is on transfer of learning - how effectively skills gained in a simulation translate to real-world performance.• Treating (The Therapeutic): From psychiatric treatment to cognitive and neuromotor rehabilitation and maintenance, VR is redefining and empowering wide areas of medicine. For successful applications of VR in treating a variety of medical conditions, a specific set of challenges are currently addressed by the research community: gamification to increase patient involvement and adherence, control for the clinician, dynamic and even automatic difficulty adjustment, specific usability and ergonomics, semi-autonomous and telemedicine use cases. • Feeling (The Human Factor): Beyond technical proficiency, Virtual Reality offers a transformative platform for the development of Soft Skills and Affective Intelligence. VR allows for complex experiential scenarios, including multi-users and multi-actors interactions, and even embodied perspective-taking, fostering deep empathy and reducing implicit bias through lived-simulated experiences. Furthermore, gamified VR provides a 'safe-to-fail' and ‘easy-to-guide’ environment for practicing self-control and emotional regulation. This pillar focuses on conceptual and technical insights to leverage VR for developing more resilient, empathetic, and socially capable individuals.This article collection is a space dedicated to most recent explorations of the remarkable gamification possibilities opened by the blooming VR ecosystems and adoption. The goal is to provide clear, evidence-based insights into how virtual reality can be used as a practical tool rather than just a source of entertainment. With VR hardware becoming more accessible and reliable, we now have a significant opportunity to study its role in professional training, clinical therapy, and the development of interpersonal skills. We aim to move the conversation forward by focusing on how the mechanics of game design—such as feedback loops, progression, and immersion—can be intentionally applied to solve real-world problems.We are specifically interested in identifying the design principles that make gamified VR effective. This includes exploring how simulations can improve emotional intelligence and empathy, as well as the human factors that ensure these experiences are usable, safe, comfortable, and inclusive. Concrete results backed up by piloting and measurements that prove the effectiveness of the approaches or discover their issues, whether it’s about skill transfer from virtual to real world or medical efficacy, are particularly welcome. By bringing together these diverse perspectives, this collection seeks to establish a grounded understanding of the relationship between game-like immersion and functional, human-centered outcomes.We welcome a range of contributions: original research with solid experimental data, detailed concept papers that propose new frameworks for immersive play, and systematic surveys that summarize the current state of the field. Detailed research topics:1. Gamification - the application of game-design elements in non-game contexts2.Mechanisms of skill transfer from virtual to real world3. Dynamic and automatic difficulty adjustment4. AI-driven personalization in clinical rehabilitation5. Soft skills training in VR6. Multi-user and team training7. Neuromotor rehabilitation8. Cognitive rehabilitation and maintenance9. Phobias treatment10. PTSD in VR11. Pain management in VR12. Ergonomics and cybersickness mitigation13. Usability and accessibility14. Metrics of immersion and presence15. Predictive analytics for skill acquisition16. Multimodal controls for VRSubmissions should directly analyze, compare, validate, or theorize game-design mechanics in VR as the main explanatory variable for outcomes such as skill transfer, adherence, emotional regulation, or usability. Topic editors: Anca Morar, Alin Moldoveanu, Alexandru Ion Berceanu, Romina Boldasu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83564/gamified-virtual-reality-training-treating-and-feeling---the-fun-functional-and-human-factors