Virtual Worlds / EXPLAINER
The Best Virtual World Has a Good Exit
Immersion becomes useful when people can enter comfortably, act clearly and leave without losing their work.
FREE EXCERPT
Begin at the doorway
Imagine a virtual museum built around an enormous rotating planet. Visitors can walk through atmospheric layers, inspect terrain and hear explanations from a guide. The scene is impressive. But a visitor who cannot comfortably use the required gestures, cannot hear the narration or cannot locate the exit has encountered a barrier before encountering the subject.
A virtual world is an interface as well as a place. Its quality depends on how people arrive, understand what is possible and regain control when something becomes confusing. The strongest design question is therefore ordinary: what can a person accomplish here, and what stands between that person and the task?
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