VR Comfort Zones Used to Inform an In-VR GUI Editor

A method executed by a computing device, comprising:

• rendering through a head-mounted display (HMD) a view of a three-dimensional virtual space, the interface editor being configured to enable placement of user interface elements in the virtual space to define a virtual reality user interface for an interactive application;
• defining within the virtual space a central zone and a lateral zone for placement of the user interface elements, the central zone being at a front-facing direction from a viewpoint in the virtual space from which a user of the interactive application will view the virtual reality user interface when interacting with the interactive application, the lateral zone being adjacent to the central zone;
• receiving input indicating an attempt to move a given user interface element from the central zone to the lateral zone;
• responsive to receiving the input, generating a counteractive response that opposes the attempt to move the given user interface element from the central zone to the lateral zone.

A system, comprising:

• a head-mounted display (HMD);
• a computing device connected to the HMD, the computing device executing an interface editor that performs the following operations:
• rendering, by the interface editor, through a head-mounted display (HMD) a view of a three-dimensional virtual space, the interface editor being configured to enable placement of user interface elements in the virtual space to define a virtual reality user interface for an interactive application;
• wherein the interface editor is configured to define within the virtual space a central zone and a lateral zone for placement of the user interface elements, the central zone being at a front-facing direction from a viewpoint in the virtual space from which a user of the interactive application will view the virtual reality user interface when interacting with the interactive application, the lateral zone being adjacent to the central zone;
• receiving, by the interface editor, input indicating an attempt to move a given user interface element from the central zone to the lateral zone;
• responsive to receiving the input, generating, by the interface editor, a counteractive response that opposes the attempt to move the given user interface element from the central zone to the lateral zone.