Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Dramatic Foundations
the purpose of this chapter and the next is to provide a framework
of dramatic theory that can be applied to the task of designing human-
computer experiences. They are structured around the fundamental precepts
of dramatic form and structure and are based primarily on Aristotelean
poetics.
1
We will take up each basic idea and then adapt it to the human-
computer context, arriving at what may be described as a
poetics of interactive
form
(remember that we defi ned “human-computer interaction” as enabling
and representing actions with human and technological participants). Once
we have constructed a theoretical base, we will go on to explore its implica-
tions in some selected areas of design.
This approach necessitates that you endure some delay of gratifi cation.
You will be forced to wade through a welter of analogies, defi nitions, and
hypotheses before a coherent picture can emerge. Hopefully, the case pre-
sented in the fi rst chapter is suffi ciently persuasive to lure you into taking
the journey. By the end of the next chapter we will be able to pull the vari-
ous elements together into a useful theory.
People often fi nd it quite peculiar that I turn to a theory that is over two
thousand years old to gain insight into a very recent phenomenon. Even
those who can be persuaded that artistic and literary theories may be
1. The term “poetics” is used to describe a body of theory that treats a poetic or aesthetic domain.
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