Research+Proposal

**Research Project: Field Proposal**
Andrew Canale Robert Hunter Rebecca Rodrigues are Z-Obsessed! **__Assignment Two : Field Proposal__** The goal of this assignment is to examine two virtual worlds and compare their use of vertical space to that of the real world. The online games __Perfect World__ and __Guild Wars__ will be utilized as a major part of this analysis. __Perfect World__ contains a z-axis; this means that the game world has a dimension of vertical depth, allowing the character to jump, fly, and interact with the world on multiple vertical levels, exploring multi-story buildings, cliffs, caves, and floating structures. __Guild Wars__ does not include a z-axis; characters are confined to a single level, and programming glitches restrict the ability to move over or under any given thing (e.g. Bridges, caves).
 * The Hypothesis**

//Ultimately, neither world accurately depicts reality – __Perfect World__ gives the player too much freedom and makes it difficult to navigate or maneuver, while __Guild Wars__ restricts the player to the point where the world seems somehow confined and unrealistic.//

The 2-D space in __Guild Wars__ creates limitations for the character because the player cannot climb cliffs, scale buildings or dive underwater. In contrast, __Perfect World__ affords these actions through flight capabilities, but these spaces on the z-axis are not located on the map; thus, the visualizations serve to convey this information through pre-attentive processing. In the real world, a human may gain access to the top of a building by climbing stairs or using an elevator which is accessed through the interior. In Guild Wars, the buildings only serve an aesthetic purpose as one cannot enter or scale the roof. Perfect World allows access to the top of buildings from the exterior only.

The data will be presented via screen shots, videos, and animated slide shows. Both games will be compared to the real world via media content.


 * Conceptual Links**

This project will draw on several course materials, though given the highly technical and vertices-focused approach; four concepts will be decidedly more prevalent.

The concept of cognitive cost determines how the user consumes images at a glance, particularly in regards to how long it takes and how difficult it is to understand any given image. This is extremely important to the implementation to a vertical axis in a computer game, because more information must be consumed in less time – one must make judgments literally while midair. The cognitive cost concept determines how long it takes to determine that a cliff is not an insurmountable peak, that there is something of worth at the top, what creatures are villains and where they are in relation to the character, and where/how non party characters are situated. If any of these messages are not conveyed efficiently, the user can get lost, bored, confused, and ultimately killed, making for an unfortunate game experience.

The cognitive cost concept ties directly into the concept of sensory representation. How does one convey the message that a character controls, or is unable to control, the aspect of vertical movement? How does one communicate the ability to teleport? How does one learn how to use these fictional movements by feel and instinct rather than instruction? These experiences are not things to which the average person has access, though these experiences must be conveyed in terms of image and sound, and must be consumed relatively quickly.

Wayfinding, then also becomes relevant to this discussion when creating a virtual world with or without a z-axis. Navigation is arguably the most important part of any persistent online world, and it is difficult to control movement on 3 axes without prior experience in that area. __Perfect World__’s navigation system is confusing and difficult to use, providing too much options without adequate control, where __Guild Wars__ provides impressive amounts of control, but an unrealistic level of area and path rigidity. As such, way-finding becomes difficult and addled with the addition of a z-axis; is the experience richer with more control or more flexibility?

Finally, the wither concept will be used to determine how both games fail in their attempt to create a totally immersive world. Wither involves a loss or elimination of connection to and authenticity of any given experience – it is difficult to perceive either world as “real” (if not realistic) because one cannot navigate the real world in the same way as one can navigate __Perfect World__ or __Guild Wars.__ Clearly, one cannot control their movement in relation to Earth’s vertical depth; however, one cannot immediately stop, run at inhuman speeds, or cross a large continent on foot either. We will determine how the visualizations of both worlds wither the connectivity and hinder the experience of game consumption.

Team members will not follow a rigid set of roles and duties, rather, each team member will be responsible for contributing to the assignment as a whole.
 * Roles and Assignments**

Andrew Canale will be involved with researching aspects of way-finding systems for vertical spaces as they exist in //the real world// in contrast to those in virtual spaces. He will be involved in the development and presentation of the material.

Robert Hunter has had previous experience in both game worlds, and is more suited to drawing comparisons, assessing limitations, and dispelling illusions of computer visualization within both games. He will be responsible for gathering the bulk of the in-game media, having more access to the worlds in addition to editing the final product.

Rebecca Rodrigues has a firm understanding of the readings and lecture materials, and will be primarily involved in making connections between the games and the concepts presented in the course material. She will be involved in critically discussing the games in relation to theory.

The deliverables shall likely include a small written report, an animated slide show presentation, one or two edited videos from the given game worlds, in addition to a stock folder of images from the other presentation materials. As far as tutorial materials are concerned, our group lacks the technical skill and expertise to create a usable website for this assignment, and will include a link to a personalized wikispace rather than dabble in cascading style sheets.
 * Deliverables**