Immersive Sims: A new paradigm or a new game genre?

October 6, 2022
Authors: , , and

Abstract

In this paper, first we discuss how sets of common principles constitute paradigms in HCI and what creates a paradigm shift; second, we analyse characteristics of immersive sims and examine if they qualify as a new paradigm. The first HCI paradigm, an amalgam of engineering and human factors, accepts interaction as a form of man-machine coupling in ways inspired by industrial engineering and ergonomics. The second HCI paradigm, in contrast, hinges on a metaphor of mind and computer as symmetric, coupled information processors. The third HCI paradigm focuses on embodied interaction, meaning and meaning construction, situated knowledge, an explicit focus on values and the centrality of context. In this paper, we build a rigorous speculative set of concepts to test our hypothesis that immersive sims present a paradigm shift. We align this conceptual clarity with a structured and systematic analysis of the high and low-level characteristics of immersive sims based on Samoylenko’s description of the five pillars of immersive sim design. We propose more refined low-level characteristics within the three high-level characteristics of immersion, simulation, and interaction. This methodical analysis of principles and practices results in a set of reliable tools supported by examples drawn from the full history of immersive sims. Using these principles, we develop an immersive sim and conduct a usability test to verify the low-level characteristics listed above in a UX case study. Finally, we conclude by stating that the immersive sim design principles constitute a paradigm shift in HCI, rather than a new genre.

Cited by

  1. Staines, D. (2023) Immersive sims and moral gameplay: A case study from Deus Ex, PAIDIA: Zeitschrift für Computerspielforschung, 17.05.2023. https://paidia.de/immersive-sims-and-moral-gameplay-a-case-study-from-deus-ex/.

Keywords

/ / /

References

  1. Barrett, L. and Lindquist, K. (2008), The Embodiment of Emotion Blasonato, M. Beyond the Box, Simmer I.O, July 4 2021, https://simmer.io/@mylesblasonato/beyondthe-box last accessed on 2021/10/21.
  2. Braidotti, R.. The posthuman. Cambridge: Polity (2013)
  3. Boehner, K., de Paula, R., Dourish, P. and Sengers, P. 2005. Affect: from information to interaction. Proceedings of the 4th Decennial Conference on Critical Computing: Between Sense and Sensibility, Aug 20-24, 2005, Aarhus, Denmark, pp. 59-68. (2005).
  4. Card, S K, Moran, T P and Newell, A. The psychology of human-computer interaction. Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates. (1983).
  5. Cremona, C. Networked Commensals: Bodily, Relational and Performative Affordances of Sharing Food Remotely. In: Art and Dance in Dialogue. Springer (2020).
  6. Dalladay-Simpson, J., Deep Design: The Next Paradigm of Human-Computer Interaction, BCG Digital Ventures, Nov 12 2020 (2020), https://medium.com/bcg-digital-ventures/deep-design-the-next-paradigm-of-human-computer-interaction-8bbe9a4c17e2, last accessed on 18/10/2021
  7. DePaula, R. and Dourish, P. Cognitive and Cultural Views of Emotions. In Proc. HCIC (2005).
  8. Dourish, P. Where the Action Is: the foundations of embodied interaction. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2001).
  9. Dourish, P. What we talk about when we talk about context. Personal Ubiquitous Comput. 8, 1, Feb, pp. 19-30. (2004).
  10. Eickers, G., Loaiza, J.R., Prinz, J., Embodiment, Context-Sensitivity, and Discrete Emotions: A response to Moors, Pschological Inquiry, V0l 28, No 1, pp. 31-38, (2017).
  11. Fox, N.J. and Alldred, P. New materialism. In: Atkinson, P.A., Delamont, S., Cernat, A., Sakshaug, J.W. and Williams, M. (eds.), SAGE Research Methods Foundations. London: Sage. (2019). https://methods.sagepub.com/foundations/new-materialism.
  12. Gallagher, S. Direct perception in the intersubjective context. Consciousness and Cognition, 17, pp. 535–543, (2008).
  13. Griffiths, P. E., Scarantino, A. Emotions in the wild: The situated perspective on emotion. In P. Robbins & Murat Ayede (Eds.), Handbook of situated cognition, pp. 437454, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (2009).
  14. Grudin, J. Three Faces of Human-Computer Interaction. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. Vol. 27, no. 4, Oct.-Dec. pp 46 – 62, (2005).
  15. Haraway, D. Situated Knowledges. Feminist Studies, Vol. 14, No. 3., pp. 575-599, (1988).
  16. Harrison, S., Sengers, P., Tatar, D., The Three Paradigms of HCI, CHI 2007, April 28May 3 San Jose, USA (2007).
  17. Jørgensen, K. Dark play in Dishonored. In The Dark Side of Game Play, pp. 210-225, Routledge. (2015).
  18. 18. Karnes, KC., What is an Immersive Experience And How Do You Create One?, (2021), last updated 05th Feb 2021, last accessed on 19 Oct 2021 https://clevertap.com/blog/immersive-experience/
  19. Kuhn, T.S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. (1962).
  20. Latour, B. Reassembling the social: an introduction to Actor-Network- Theory. Oxford University Press, Oxford. (2007).
  21. McCullough, M. Digital Ground. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, (2004).
  22. O’Dwyer, D., How Arkane Studios Designed Prey – Documentary, 16th Sep 2021, (2021), last accessed on 19 Oct 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXLxaKrcFZ0&t=3135s
  23. Restrepo, D., Editorial: The Modern Immersive Sim, 24 Dec 2017, last accessed on 21 Oct 2021 https://gamelust.com/news/editorial-modern-immersive-sim/
  24. Samoylenko, M, (2021). Five pillars of Immersive Sims, last accessed on 19 Oct 2021, https://maximsamoylenko.medium.com/five-pillars-of-immersive-sims7263167e7258 25. Scarantino, A. How to define emotions scientifically. Emotion Review, 4, 358–368. (2012b).
  25. Scarantino, A. Basic emotions, psychological construction, and the problem of variability. In L. F. Barrett & J. A. Russell (Eds.), The psychological construction of emotion (pp. 334–376). New York, NY: Guilford Press. (2015).
  26. Schubert, D. How Realistic is Too Realistic? Game Developer, Informa PLC Ltd, UK (2010) 28. Shami, N.S., Hancock, J., Peter, C., Muller, M. and Mandryk, R. Measuring affect in hci: going beyond the individual. In Extended Abstracts of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2008), New York: ACM Press. (2008).
  27. Slater, M. “Place Illusion and Plausibility Can Lead to Realistic Behaviour in Immersive Virtual Environments”Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. Dec 12; 364(1535), pp. 3549–3557 (2009)
  28. Sicart, M., Beyond Choices, The Design of Ethical Gameplay, MIT Press (2013)
  29. Spector, W., Warren Spector’s Commandments of Game Design, 4th Sep 2013, (2013), last accessed on 18 Oct 2021 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-09-04-warren-spectors-commandments-of-game-design
  30. Spector, W., Deus Ex Postmortem, 6th Dec 2000, (2000), last accessed 04 Feb 2022 https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-ion-storm-s-i-deus-ex-i-
  31. Truby, J.. The anatomy of story: 22 steps to becoming a master storyteller, (2007). New York, Faber and Faber.Card, S, Newell, A., & Moran, T. (1983) The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Mahwah, NJ.