Still+Need

Hey guys,
 * [[image:WoWScrnShot_032709_221732.jpg]]sion

World of Warcraft uses the affordances that we see and interact with in the real world to create a 3D perception and make the players feel as though they are in real life. However, the interaction with these affordances are different than those in the real world. In WoW there is no interaction with these objects as they simply become images that dont allow the player to use them. They make the space look familiar through arbitrary (eg. exclamation marks) and sensory representations (eg. wooden bench) from the real world but restrict the player at the same time. The player looks in a room, familiarizes with objects and attempts to use them. If the objects serve no purpose in completing/finding a quest then they do not allow the player to interact with them, forcing the player to leave and explore something else in the game. Instead of feeling free to do what one wants as one feels in real life, this sense of freedom is replaced with feelings of frustration, boredom and isolation as though one is trapped in a room. In WoW, the player looks for a way out and immediately looks for convenience as though they would in the real world. Thus leading them to depend on the map, on the top right hand corner, to guide them and find a quest or another room. In this image, the visualization design of highlighting important information is used to lead the player to avoid the books and explore the room. Books in the real world are meant to be read and by using similarity and sensory representations, WoW wishes to create a 3D perception and real-life experiences. However, the player is unable to read the books limiting the options a player has in the interacting with objects. The idea of removing the original use of objects works towards highlighting other information in the game. visual hierarchy- text is separated from the scene and directs the behavior of the player which in turn affects the avatar. Avatar cant play without human interaction...text is directed towards the actual player...player restricting in it always points towards main player. player is moving beside us sense of vection is decreased when playing in third person but in real life you feel vection when an object moves beside you fast. cant stop real life. directing towards a quest highlighting important information-path in the top right hand corner shows a path emphasizing on the players choices. statistics on the human mage eg strength. put the qualities of a humans in the real word in numbers so that they become measurable therefore putting limits on the qualities that cannot be measured in real life. In WoW paths are clearly defined to direct a player to a specific direction, making it seem as thought the player is free to move in an open space. This is not the case at all because if a room is not a quest the player has currently accepted, then the player can move around the room bump into walls, go through object and other avatars until knowing there is no point in staying in that room. It is obvious in real life, using pre-attentive processing that hwhen there is no purpose in staying in a location if we are unable to sit, speak, read or do any other type of activity we want to leave. This idea is implement in World of Warcraft in that other avatars and objects become a series of background images in which the player can do nothing about. They are bored and frustrated and are merely forced to go find a quest or another space to explore.

Interactions with other players are limited In this screenshot, a player's quest is displayed on the screen to constantly remind them of the quest they have to complete. In this case, many information is highlighted to portray the significance of completing a quest. The player is knelt down on one knee in front of the thistle boar to show appreciation of an accomplishment. The items box is also significant in that it rewards the player for killing creatures. The emotions evoke gratitutude and pride in the player, sending him to kill more boars and complete the quest. In the real world, the process of killing animals are not dealt in the same manner, in that the main purpose is not to improve character strength and skills. In this screenshot, the player is guided by a path that using gradient texture to differentiate between the grass and the stone path. Real world objects are used to make the player feel as though they are in the real world. When it is difficult for the the player to view the map, they can always choose to follow the mini-map on the top right of the screen.