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Do apparatuses and eyestrain have effects on learning performances and quality of experience? Materials and Methods: 42 participants played a serious game simulating a job interview with a Samsung Gear VR Head-Mounted Display (HMD) or a computer screen. Participants were randomly assigned to 3 groups: PC, HMD biocular, and HMD stereoscopy (S3D). Participants played the game thrice. Eyestrain was assessed pre- and post-exposure with six optometric measures. Learning performances were obtained in-game. Quality of experience was measured with questionnaires. Results: eyestrain was higher with HMDs than PC based on Punctum Proximum of accommodation but similar between biocular and S3D. Knowledge gain and retention were similar with HMDs and PC based on scores and response time. All groups improved response time but without statistically significant differences between HMDs and PC. Visual discomfort difference was statistically significant between PC and HMDs (biocular and S3D). Flow difference was statistically significant between PC and HMDs (biocular and S3D), with the PC group reporting higher Flow than HMD-S3D. Conclusion: short-term learning is similar between PC and HMDs. Groups initially using HMDs continued improving during long-term learning but without statistically significant difference compared to PC. Eyestrain and visual discomfort were higher with HMDs than PC. Flow was higher with the PC group. Our results show that eyestrain does not seem to decrease learning.

Purpose: It is hypothesized that cyclical stereoscopy (displaying stereoscopy or 2D cyclically) has effect over visual fatigue, learning curves and quality of experience, and that those effects are different from regular stereoscopy. Materials and Methods: 59 participants played a serious game simulating a job interview with a Samsung Gear VR Head Mounted Display (HMD). Participants were randomly assigned to 3 groups: HMD with regular stereoscopy (S3D) and HMD with cyclical stereoscopy (cycles of 1 or 3 minutes). Participants played the game thrice (third try on a PC one month later). Visual discomfort, Flow, Presence, were measured with questionnaires. Visual Fatigue was assessed pre-and post-exposure with optometric measures. Learning traces were obtained in-game. Results: Visual discomfort and flow are lower with cyclical-S3D than S3D but not Presence. Cyclical stereoscopy every 1 minute is more tiring than stereoscopy. Cyclical stereoscopy every 3 minutes tends to be more tiring than stereoscopy. Cyclical stereoscopy groups improved during Short-Term Learning. None of the statistical tests showed a difference between groups in either Short-Term Learning or Long-Term Learning curves. Conclusion: cyclical stereoscopy displayed cyclically had a positive impact on Visual Comfort and Flow, but not Presence. It affects oculomotor functions in a HMD while learning with a serious game with low disparities and easy visual tasks. Other visual tasks should be tested, and eye-tracking should be considered to assess visual fatigue during exposure. Results in ecological conditions seem to support models suggesting that activating cyclically stereopsis in a HMD is more tiring than maintaining it.