Creativity in Virtual Reality: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Creativity, as one of the most important 21st-century skills, plays a key role in knowledge creation and utilization. While improving the awareness, ability, and level of creativity is a global challenge, especially in education, organizational management, and specific creative fields (e.g., music, arts and crafts, and poetry). The emerging virtual technologies such as VR (virtual reality), metaverse, and MR (mixed reality) provide environments with infinite possibilities for creative activities. However, to date, there has been a limited understanding of whether, how and to what extent VR can influence human creativity. The current study seeks to bridge this gap by carrying out a systematic literature review with 52 papers related to the applications of VR for creativity. The findings of the review encompass various aspects, including research methods, theories, contexts, characteristics of VR and creativity as well as their relationships. Drawing on the synthesized findings, four main thematic agendas are further proposed for future study.