Category: Reading Response 1

I’m looking at the property Murray speaks about as Digital Environments being Participatory. I think it would be a cop out to leave it at thinking about, well you know XR/VR environments are spatial by definition of most of its function being about the interface between the real and digital environments, and thus arguably can come to existence only once there is a participant. But in thinking about participation, what I really enjoyed was the way he described the functionality of “objects” and moving away from the typical branch based narrative that I’ve been most familiar with. Firstly there is the question of why we don’t have more of the approach Zork takes, which I associate essentially as opting for the game/experience to be spatially aware, and the “space” having objects that function with a certain set of rules. Comparing this aspect, what I find interesting is, in an almost pre-essential way, XR environments ( which I so far have only been able to look at from the context of Unity) exhibit such awareness and functionality. The link I’m seeing is that as a first step, it almost feels impossible to think of creating any sort of XR experience without thinking of the interaction between the user and the environment. The second the interaction aspect comes in, then the question becomes about what objects the user is interacting with. Immediately, this then asks for a set of rules the object/s function by, and thus the question of how the user participates in the experience. 

If we were to rule out the aspect of technical ability (like I might end up not being able to make a box light up when the user approaches it), from an experience/user interaction perspective, I think XR for the most part exists with this pre-condition of being very spatially aware, and requiring the aspect of participation under a set of rules (and these rules ten affecting the narrative of the experience) .

This reading offered a simple deconstruction of all the elements necessary to create digital environments. The fact that digital environments are participatory, particularly stood out to me due to variety of factors that we designers and programmers must consider in order to create more sustained engagement. With earlier programs like ELIZA and Zork, it was interesting to observe how users were often inspired to test the limits of how responsive these programs can be. The reading states that the first step to creating “enticing narrative world is to script the interactor”; thus making it easier for the programmers to anticipate the interactor’s actions and behaviors.

Due to the fact that digital environments are participatory, this means that every detail has to be designed with the user in mind: their reactions, questions, spatial awareness, etc. The most traditional approach in digital environments that is still utilized today, is having a simple branching structure “which limits the interactor’s choices to a set of alternatives from a fixed menus of some kind.” This narrative is still widely used in modern day RPG’s, chat bots, and a variety of other interactive services. Having participatory digital environments also implies that these environments have their limitations, which are dictated by a specific set of rules. Perhaps with more developments in virtual reality and machine learning, we can anticipate digital environments that are flexible enough to capture a wider range of human behavior and counter it.

One of the four principle elements of digital environments is spatiality.  As defined by Murray, digital environments are “characterized by their power to represent navigable space” (79 ). I think this element is a really important aspect of VR because the more navigable the digital environment is, the more interactive it will be. Imagine a VR game or interaction of a house where the user can navigate to different rooms. It would be more realistic if the user is able to freely navigate to those rooms, to different spaces because then they will be able to interact with the objects in the room. Thus, the ability to navigate gives the user to reach out to something which is real in our 3D world but seems impossible in 2D world. As a result, it gives an illusion of reality. This also means that the user is able to participate quite well in the environment, making it more participatory. 

In addition, some VR environments have certain space be restricted on purpose to create certain moods for the users. For example, inside a VR house environment, some rooms are made not accessible in order to create a suspenseful and mysterious environment for the users to explore.

Taking one of Murray’s four principle properties of digital environments, how do you see VR representing that property?

Looking at the property of digital environments being spatial, I think VR represents it perfectly. The very point of Virtual Reality is to present a digital space in the real world, and make us feel as though we are in that space. Murray uses the term “navigable space”, which I think is accurate for VR. The quality of being spatial is determined by our interactions with the space, of navigating it. VR puts you in a space rather than simply telling you about it. There’s a level of objectivity to it, as put by Murray, since everyone would experience the same space, as opposed to if it were being described and would then be open to interpretation.

Murray also mentions “experiential drama” which I think encapsulates the VR experience very well. The point is to be there rather than imagine being there or hearing about it. It’s a direct, active interaction with the environment.

Murray’s chapter on “From Additive to Expressive Form” reminded me of the literature and general content of one of the classes I have taken previously at NYU Gallatin, where we learned about and created our own non-linear storytelling narratives and literature. In particular, the example of Zork was one of the main case studies we have referred to throughout the course. Now, it is exciting to use the same example and compared to VR.

It is quite impressive how this reading holds up to this day despite so may developments to multimedia technologies in these years. The author’s breakdown of digital environments is applicable to VR technologies as well.

The four principle properties in relation to VR:

1. procedural: I think the back-end components of VR are algorithmic and, therefore, procedural. If it is a game environment, the gameplay can have its own procedures and a storyline.
2. participatory: VR is interactive and engaging, even if the participation is passive (if you are just “walking” around the virtual world, you inhibit and explore it, if that makes sense)
3. spatial: I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. VR is quite literally provide an alternate reality/space.
4. encyclopedic: the VR world provides a lot of multimedia information. There is a lot of potential there on how to utilize that media, whether it is image, interaction, animation, sound, etc. , to create a a complex immersive environment and storytelling.

The first 2 properties refer to interactivity and the other two refer to the immersiveness, which I perceive as essential components of a VR experience.

One of the properties that VR represents out of Murray’s four principle properties of digital environments is spatial. Virtual Reality transports one into another world and the most important aspect that makes that world unique is the space. It is space that one creates the environment and the soul of a world. VR relies on the use of space to make those forms of media unique. For example, when you’re consuming any other form of media such as movies or tv shows the space you see is behind a 2D wall whereas with VR the user is experiencing it through first-person view. 

The manipulation of space is used to aid in storytelling through VR. For example, if a user plays through a horror game using virtual reality, the game developers behind that game would use space to their advantage through many ways such as the manipulation of the vastness or the tightness of the world in correspondence to the feeling that the creator wants to portray.

Post a brief response to the reading (1-2 paragraphs), and put it under category Reading Response 1. Choose one of the following questions to address in your response, and be ready to talk about them in class next week

• Where do you think VR falls in terms of being an additive or an expressive form (or somewhere in between)?
• Taking one of Murray’s four principle properties of digital environments, how do you see VR representing that property?