topical media & game development

topical media & game development

[] readme course(s) preface I 1 2 II 3 4 III 5 6 7 IV 8 9 10 V 11 12 afterthought(s) appendix reference(s) example(s) resource(s) _

research directions -- the face of cyberspace

The notion of cyberspace was introduced in William Gibson's novel Neuromancer, that appeared in the early 1980's, signifying a vast amount of (digital) data that could be accessed only through a virtual reality interface that was controlled by neuro-sensors. Accessing data in cyberspace was not altogether without danger, since data protection mechanisms (including firewalls, as we call them nowadays) were implemented using neuro-feedback. Although the vision expressed in Neuromancer is (in our days) still futuristic, we are confronted with a vast amount of information and we need powerful search engines and visualisation techniques not to get lost. So what is the reality of cyberspace today?

... cyberspace is a construct in terms of an electronic system.

as observed by Vivian Sobschack, 1996, quoted from [History], p. 321. On reflection, our (electronic) world of today might be more horrendous than the world depicted in Neuromancer. In effect,

cyberspace

television, video cassettes, video tape-recorder/players, video games, and personal computers all form an encompassing electronic system whose various forms interface to constitute an alternative and absolute world that uniquely incorporates the spectator/user in a spatially decentered, weakly temporalized and quasi-disembodied state.

All these gadgets make us dizzy, stoned with information and fried by electro-magnetic radiation. However, the reality of everyday computer use is (fortunately?) less exciting than the images in Neuromancer suggest. User interfaces are usually tiresome and not at all appealing. So except for the fanatic, the average user does easily get bored. Would this change when virtual reality techniques are applied pervasively? What is virtual reality?

virtual reality

virtual reality (is) when and where the computer disappears and you become the 'ghost in the machine' ...

In other words, virtual reality is a technology that provokes immersion, sensuous immersion, supported by rich media and powerful 3D graphics. In our age of information, we may wonder how all that information should be presented. Rephrasing the question, we may ask what are the limits of the digital experience, or more importantly, what should be the norm: 3D virtual environments, plain text, or some form of XP?

[] readme course(s) preface I 1 2 II 3 4 III 5 6 7 IV 8 9 10 V 11 12 afterthought(s) appendix reference(s) example(s) resource(s) _

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