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WhitepaperUniversity of Waterloo3 Nov 2026

Pause and Play: Retaining Virtual Elements in an Augmented Reality Mode Supports Seamless Return to Virtual Reality

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
Retaining essential gameplay elements like the player avatar and enemies in an augmented reality (AR) pause mode significantly improves user experience by helping players maintain their position, orientation, and game state during interruptions.See it on page 3
02
Participants in a study of 20 users significantly preferred the 'Player Avatar' and 'Enemies' conditions over other methods, as these elements are critical to the core gameplay loop.See it on page 18
03
The 'Virtual Surroundings' condition was the least preferred by users because it created excessive visual clutter, which interfered with their ability to navigate and interact with the real world during pauses.See it on page 17
04
The 'Player Avatar' condition was specifically effective in reducing positional differences upon game resumption, acting as an embodied cue for users to re-enter their in-game role.See it on page 16
05
None of the tested AR pausing environments hindered the users' ability to perform real-world tasks, such as interacting with a phone or moving through a physical space.See it on page 9
06
Future cross-reality game design should consider a hybrid 'Pause Menu' that allows users to customize which virtual elements are retained, as this approach offers the broadest potential application.See it on page 22
07
To minimize visual interference in future implementations, developers should consider limiting the density of retained virtual surroundings to only the most critical or interactive elements near the player.See it on page 8

Summary

Pause and Play: Retaining Virtual Elements in an Augmented Reality Mode Supports Seamless Return to Virtual Reality DAZHUANG TENG, University of Waterloo, Canada VILLE MÄKELÄ, University of Waterloo, Canada Fig. 1. We designed and evaluated four cross-reality pausing environments that keep certain elements from the virtual environment visible while the user exits VR. A: Original Virtual Environment. The virtual environment presented to the user before the pause. B: Player Avatar.

Pause and Play: Retaining Virtual Elements in an Augmented Reality Mode Supports Seamless Return to Virtual Reality

Pause and Play: Retaining Virtual Elements in an Augmented Reality Mode Supports Seamless Return to Virtual Reality

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