Reallocation of Body Ownership Between Avatar and Omniscient Entity in Third-Person Perspective VR

Third-person perspective (3PP) VR can afford dual embodiment, letting users act through an in-world avatar while simultaneously operating an omniscient entity (OE) from a detached viewpoint. We investigate how the sense of body ownership (SoBO) reallocates between these two asymmetric entities during continuous play. We systematically varied macro-level design factors—avatar and OE involvement—across three maze scenes and one combat scene in a within-subjects study. After each trial, participants produced time-aligned, continuous SoBO traces for both entities; gaze and controller signals were logged, and recall interviews captured first-person explanations. This research reveals three main findings. First, SoBO is not statically fixed but dynamically reallocated between the avatar and the OE across task phases. Second, allocation follows design factors: higher OE involvement in the maze strengthened ownership toward it, while combat consistently favored the avatar. Third, moment-to-moment gaze and control intensity predict ownership allocation, with fluency and salient events emerging as additional influences. These findings provide a framework for understanding dynamic SoBO and inform the design of adaptive 3PP VR systems.