Embodied Cognition–Driven Tactile Compensation and Emotional Reconstruction in Serious Games for Virtual Healing Space Design

Virtual reality (VR) environments and serious games are increasingly explored as tools for emotional wellbeing and restorative experiences. However, most existing VR healing applications emphasize visual immersion and interaction, while the role of material perception and tactile imagination in virtual environments remains underexplored. Drawing on theories of embodied cognition and cross-modal perception, this study examines how visual material properties and lighting conditions may evoke quasi-tactile perception and influence emotional responses in VR spaces. To conceptualize this process, we propose the SPCR model (Stimuli–Perception–Compensation–Reconstruction), describing how spatial stimuli may trigger perceptual engagement, evoke tactile compensation, and support emotional reconstruction. Based on this framework, a VR experimental prototype was developed using PBR material properties and dynamic lighting parameters. Users’ emotional and experiential responses were evaluated through physiological and psychological indicators, including heart rate variability (HRV), the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), and the Igroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ). The results suggest that material–light coupling and interactive feedback may enhance presence, perceived tactile richness, and positive emotional responses. While the findings do not establish clinical therapeutic outcomes, they highlight the potential role of tactile-oriented spatial design in VR-based restorative experiences and provide a preliminary design framework for future immersive healing environments.