Realism is usually one of the first things people ask about when discussing VR training and immersive learning experiences.

How accurate does it need to be?
How close can we get it to the real world?
Will people believe it?

They’re reasonable questions. But they’re not always the right ones.

Because in training, realism can support learning - and it can also quietly get in the way of it.

The assumption - more realism equals better learning

There’s a common belief that the closer an experience is to reality, the more effective it will be. In VR training, realism is often treated as a proxy for quality.

More detail.
More fidelity.
More things to interact with.

Sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed. But often, it leads to virtual reality training experiences that look convincing and feel impressive, yet don’t actually help people make better decisions when it matters.

The issue isn’t realism itself. It’s unexamined realism.

Learning isn’t about seeing everything

In the real world, people rarely notice everything around them. They focus on what matters in that moment.

Good immersive learning design mirrors that. It helps learners recognise signals, prioritise information, and act under realistic conditions - not absorb every possible detail.

Highly realistic environments can do the opposite. They introduce noise. Extra objects, options, and visual detail compete for attention, increasing cognitive load at exactly the point where clarity is needed.

If learners are working harder to orient themselves than to think, realism has tipped into distraction.

Plausibility beats precision

One distinction we often come back to when designing VR training simulations is the difference between precision and plausibility.

Precision is about accuracy.
Plausibility is about believability.

You can have a perfectly accurate environment that still feels unhelpful, or an intentionally simplified one that feels convincing enough to support learning.

Plausibility allows learners to suspend disbelief and engage with the task. Precision, when overused, can anchor attention to the wrong things.

The question becomes less “is this real enough?” and more “does this feel like a situation someone would recognise and respond to?”

When realism hides the real learning problem

Another risk with high realism in immersive training is that it can mask underlying design issues.

If a learning experience relies heavily on explanation, prompts, or instruction layered on top of a realistic environment, that’s often a signal that the environment itself isn’t doing enough work.

Effective VR learning design usually centres on decisions, trade-offs, and consequences. Not on being shown how things work, but on understanding why a choice matters.

When realism takes centre stage, those moments can get diluted. The experience becomes about navigating the environment, rather than navigating the judgement required within it.

Realism should support judgement, not replace it

The most effective virtual reality training experiences tend to be selective rather than exhaustive.

They focus attention on a small number of critical cues.
They create just enough uncertainty to require thought.
They allow learners to experience the outcome of decisions, not just observe them.

Realism plays a role here, but only in service of those goals. It’s a supporting actor, not the lead.

If realism doesn’t actively help someone practise judgement, it’s probably doing too much.

A useful question to ask early

One question we’ve found helpful when shaping immersive learning experiences is this:

What would someone need to notice in order to act differently next time?

Not what they need to see.
Not what we’re able to show.
But what genuinely changes behaviour outside the experience.

Anything that doesn’t support that answer is a candidate for simplification, abstraction, or removal.

Less realism, more learning

This isn’t an argument for low-fidelity experiences, or cutting corners in VR training.

It’s an argument for intentional realism.

For designing environments that feel believable enough to matter, without overwhelming learners with information they don’t need.

When realism is used carefully, it sharpens learning. When it’s used by default, it often blunts it.

The aim isn’t to recreate reality. It’s to prepare people for it.