How are game mechanics changing with the rise of VR and AR?

Setting aside technical hurdles (indeed, please take care of those as they invalidate effort in any other area), Immersion is a key concept in VR (and XR) in which you must account for more edge cases than traditional gaming. Sometimes you can get away with lower quality models, or certain elements you think the player will not see, but in VR the main degree of control over the camera is given entirely to the player. They can go straight to the point and check anything (and everything) in the environment. Take into account Players want to be able to exert agency freely in VR. While not everything should be pickable, static environments and the lack of “living” components (NPCs, particles, things happening around the player) is… boring.

This is best illustrated by the VR game "Onward", a first person shooter where the player must perform actual physical motions to do in-game mechanics such as reloading the weapon, throwing a grenade, etc. This adds incredible immersion as well as a basic innate understanding and reduces the learning curve for these mechanics. The pitfalls of this scheme can become evident if the physical motions assigned to in-game functions are narrowly read and understood by the engine and end up becoming "buggy" or are only completed successfully by very specific and precise movements by the user. Developers should be acutely aware of the parameters required by engine to achieve successful recognition of physical movements that are tied to mechanics

The rise of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) has significantly impacted game mechanisms, introducing new dimensions to gameplay and user interaction.

I do agree with these points, but I am very annoyed with the current mechanics that are often chosen in VR to deal with things like motion sickness, disorientation, breaking immersion. Teleporting is the worst one, there are so many [out-of-the-box] possible solutions to this, yet we use teleportation even in medieval settings. Game Designers should [be able to] work more closely with Scientists/ Psychologists in order to improve technical issues in whichever way possible. Sometimes the answer can be surprising and unexpected. Research on finding creative solutions for technical limitations should be encouraged and rewarded. VR can be a powerful medium, but often it is chosen for the 'wow' factor.

In the VR realm, embrace "Dynamic Immersion" — a perspective that transforms static environments into responsive, living worlds. Recognize that in VR, every detail matters as players have unrestricted agency. Populate the environment with interactive elements, introduce living components, and ensure consequential interactions. Use the immersive nature of VR for rich storytelling through the environment. Design dynamic challenges that adapt to player actions. This approach maximizes the potential of VR by creating a truly interactive and responsive world where every corner is worth exploring, and every action has a meaningful impact.

I've learned that this is such a fine line, I find it quite difficult in my work to find the sweet spot of giving just the right amount of information. There is so much to see, hear, and feel [emotions], and then on top of this there is a new and often unfamiliar world to explore. Interactions for VR are still being developed and not as established as with regular computer games: most gamers will know w s a d and how to use a mouse to aim, but in VR there are so many possibilities that the player needs to take a good amount of hours to master the simplest interactions. Either technology will grow to implement haptics so well that this fine line will disappear, or designers will establish standard 'hacks' and 'tricks'.

Read more about Immersive Theory and the adaptations of Fictional/Sensory/Systemic Immersion to this extended paradigm. More often than not, when creating VR games or experiences, the concept of immersion is not fully considered. VR provides a framework where immersion is not empowered, it is actually required for the world to be believable.