Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Part 2: Simulation versus fabrication
In the process of interacting with a narrative environment, there is a tendency
for the user to look for the limitations of the system. This may occur in a
number of ways, depending on the kind of environment:
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In a 3D environment, the user may try to break away from the model, or
find holes in the model that provide an external view of the environment.
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The user may try to exhaust all branches of a dialogue tree.
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The user may become intentionally unresponsive, to see how the environ-
ment operates without stimulation.
Once the user has explored these limitations, he can feel he has in some way
mastered the environment, and will then proceed to explore the environment
according to its internal logic.
The ability to perform these user experiments is often mistaken as a qual-
itative measure for interactivity. Indeed, in some cases a system must demon-
strate a fundamental level of responsiveness if it is to be useful. In a narrative
environment, however, this kind of exploration can lead the user to the Edge
of the World. The Edge of the World is the place where the user has broken out
of the environment without consequence.
If the user in unable to find an Edge, or the Edge of the World is elusive,
then it is more likely that the user will become immersed within the narrative
environment. In such a case, the user's path through the environment becomes
significant. The user's path consists of a collection of character interactions,
locations, and other notable elements. As particular points of interest, these
elements form landmarks in the environment. Thus the user experience gen-
erates a set of landmarks, and those landmarks define a narrative. This is the
ideal result of any narrative environment.
Characteristics of simulation and fabrication
A simulation operates on a mechanical model of the universe. A simulation
may incorporate some randomness as a substitution for unknown or unde-
fined variables in the system, but is otherwise made up of a collection of de-
terminate properties: objects, physics, continuity, &c. Because simulations are
frequently modeled on the “real” world, and because objects in the real world
are not spontaneously generated or destroyed, the simulated world exists in a
knowable state at any given moment. In other words, someone has built all of
the virtual walls, floors, and lemon trees of the simulated world ahead of time.
