The Influence of Intrinsic Perceptual Cues on Navigation and Route Selection in Virtual Environments

The principle aims of this thesis were to investigate the influence of intrinsic navigational cues in virtual environments and video games. Modern video games offer complex environments that may reflect real world spaces or represent landscapes from fantasy and fiction. The coherent design of these spaces can promote natural navigational flow without the requirement for extraneous guidance such as maps and arrows. The methods that designers use to create natural flow are complex and stratified utilising principles rooted in urban architectural design and navigational cues that are intrinsic to real-world wayfinding scenarios. The studies presented in this thesis analysed not only these commonly used architectural cues but also the potential for the reinforcing of these cues by the addition of lighting, visual and auditory cues. The primary focus of this thesis was a systematic and quantitatively rooted analysis of the impact lighting has on navigation and the levels at which variance in lighting makes a quantifiable difference to navigational choices within a virtual environment. The findings of this thesis offer clear guidance as to the influence that lighting has within virtual environments and specifies that thresholds at which the inclusion of guidance lighting begins to affect navigational choices and the levels that players become conscious of these cues. The thesis also analyses the temporal thresholds for the detection of changes in contrast, hue and texture within an environment. The relationship of other intrinsic cues such as the potential reinforcement or cue competition effects of both audio and other visual cues, for instance motion are quantitatively analysed. These data were reflected in the form of a series of heuristic design principles that augment those that underpin architectural and environmental design considerations by for instance suggesting levels of saliency for lighting cues or reinforcing existing cues via supporting audio guidance

Un modelo computacional del suspense en entornos narrativos e interactivos

El suspense es un recurso fundamental para generar gratificaciones emocionales e interés por las historias en una amplia diversidad de dominios narrativos. Su influencia va más allá del ámbito del ocio, contribuyendo a disciplinas como la educación y la psicología. Sin embargo y a pesar de su importancia, hasta la fecha no existe una especificación formal completa sobre su composición ni el impacto en la audiencia. Esto dificulta calibrar formalmente el nivel de suspense y determinar estrategias formales. En consecuencia, no es posible valorar con rigor sus efectos emocionales..

Is a dark virtual environment scary?

This study investigated the effects of nighttime lighting conditions and stress on the affective appraisal of a virtual environment (VE). The effective application of VEs in emotionally intense simulations requires precise control over their characteristics that affect the user's emotions and behavior. It is known that humans have an innate fear of darkness, which increases after exposure to stress and extrapolates to ecologically valid (immersive) VEs. This study investigated if the simulated level of illumination determines the affective appraisal of a VE, particularly after stress. Participants explored either a daytime or a nighttime version of a VE, after performing either an acute psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Test, or TSST) or a relaxing control task. The affective qualities of the VE were appraised through the Russel and Pratt semantic questionnaire on the valence and arousal dimensions. Distress was assessed through free salivary cortisol, the state self-report scale from the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and heart rate. In addition, memory for scenic details was tested through a yes-no recognition test. Free salivary cortisol levels, heart rates, and scores on the STAI all indicate that participants who were subjected to the stress task indeed showed signs of distress, whereas participants in the control group showed no signs of stress. The results of the semantic questionnaire and the recognition test showed no significant overall effect of time-of-day conditions on the affective appraisal of the VE or on the recognition of its details, even after prior stress. The experiences of users exploring the VE were not affected by the simulated lighting conditions, even after acute prior stress. Thus, lowering the illumination level in a desktop VE is not sufficient to elicit anxiety. Hence, desktop VE representations are different from immersive VE representations in this respect. This finding has implications for desktop VE representations that are deployed for serious gaming and training purposes. © Copyright 2009, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc