Human-computer user interaction

A method of simulating breathing in a virtual environment,

• comprising, by a processor:
• displaying, on a display, a character being controlled by a user, wherein the character's chest moves to represent breathing, and wherein the movement of the character's chest changes to simulate a change in a breathing state caused by a virtual event experienced by the character;
• creating a rhythmic force comprising a resulting force having vector components in two or more dimensions in space to simulate two or more effects including a breathing effect, the resulting force including a combination of force functions associated with the two or more effects, wherein the combination of force functions includes a force function for the breathing effect that generates a force in one direction when the character is breathing in, in an opposite direction when the character is breathing out, and has a variable rhythm based on the breathing state of the character;
• and
• implementing the rhythmic force in a haptic device so that the haptic device applies the resulting force to simulate the two or more effects.