Immersive Behaviour of Transitory User Interfaces

Immersive Behaviour of Transitory User Interfaces

Author: Sean Costain

1

Immersive Behaviour of Transitory

User Interfaces

Author: Sean Costain A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Digital Media (Honours) Queensland College of Art Griffith University 2010



2 Abstract

In today’s modern world of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games the player is

presented with a vast amount of game related information. Complexity of these games is

not a flawed design, the more complex the game, the more immersion the players have

with the world. The problem with this information overload is that it is always present to

the player and hence, destroys the player’s engagement of the game world. Research into

transitory interfaces, is a theory on how to deliver the complex information the player

desires whilst balancing this with an enhanced access to the game world. This requires that

only relevant aspects of the interface are present at any one point in time.

A transitory interface is a method allowing a user full access to all applicable game

information at any particular point in time, dependent upon the need for that information.

In regards to Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, a player is normally

bombard with chat, action bars, player stats and a navigation map all the time, the

implementation of a transitory interface would allow that the user only views aspects of the

interface if it is relevant to that point in the game. I.e. walking requires the map element,

but not the chat or action bars, as such the other elements would be hidden from view.

This research is important as it can lead to a paradigm shift in the way players interact with

the game world; this in turn increases a player’s enjoyment and longevity of playing the

game. For the publisher this has the potential of increasing profit revenue and maintaining a

large consumer base.

A survey was undertaken to collect data, this survey contained video simulations of

transitory interfaces in action; covering two of the main aspects of massively multiplayer

online role playing games, movement and combat. From the collected information, a

prototype game was developed with the transitions in action.

The survey resulted in 88% of participants not being affected by the introduction of

transitory interfaces and preferring it to current user interface design, this is a vast

improvement over the 12% that stated that transitory interfaces would degrade game play.

This has shown that the implementation of transitory interfaces should be a considered

within the context of new massively multiplayer online role playing games, with a strategy

to increase the immersion level of the game.



3 Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following people for support and critical feedback during the

creation of this paper

- My Children, who constantly remind me that no matter how much work there is to

be done, there is always time for fun.

- My Karate Family, who reinforced that perseverance in the face of adversity, will

always win through.

- Academic Supervisor: Dale Patterson, without whose advice the paper would have

been stuck on a bare bones introduction.

- My Friends who reminded me why I was doing what I was doing and kept me on

track.



4 Contents

Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... 2

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. 3

Table of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 6

Literature Review ................................................................................................................................ 8

Philosophy of Approach .................................................................................................................... 13

Method ............................................................................................................................................. 13

Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 13

Information Gathering: ..................................................................................................................... 15

Assemblage of testing Apparatus required ...................................................................................... 15

Setup ............................................................................................................................................. 15

Process of Testing ......................................................................................................................... 16

Practical Implementation .................................................................................................................. 17

Analysis of Results ............................................................................................................................. 21

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: .......................................................................................................... 21

GAMING EXPERIENCE: ...................................................................................................................... 22

USER INTERFACE: ............................................................................................................................. 23

IMMERSION: .................................................................................................................................... 24

Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 26

References: ........................................................................................................................................... 27

Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 29

Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 30

Appendix 3 ........................................................................................................................................ 32

Appendix 4 ........................................................................................................................................ 33

Appendix 5 ........................................................................................................................................ 34

Appendix 6 ........................................................................................................................................ 36

Appendix 7 ........................................................................................................................................ 39

Appendix 8 ........................................................................................................................................ 42

Appendix 9 ........................................................................................................................................ 44

Appendix 10 ...................................................................................................................................... 48



5 Table of Figures

Figure 1 Non-Transitioned Interface ___________________________________________________ 6

Figure 2 Semi Transitioned Interface __________________________________________________ 6

Figure 3 Fully Transitioned Interface __________________________________________________ 6

Figure 4 Zork Interface (Barton, 2008) _________________________________________________ 8

Figure 5 Meridian 59 Evolved Graphics (EuroGamer, 2010) ________________________________ 9

Figure 6 Everquest Interface (The Shadow Council, 2002) _________________________________ 10

Figure 7 Star Wars Galaxies (ActionTrip, 2003) _________________________________________ 10

Figure 8 Star Wars Galaxies Graphic Update (Kid, 2006) __________________________________ 11

Figure 9 Star Wars Galaxies User Interface 2010 (Costain, 2009) ___________________________ 11

Figure 10 World of Warcraft (MMOHut, 2009) _________________________________________ 12

Figure 11 2 Dimensional Game ______________________________________________________ 17

Figure 12 Map Interface Element ____________________________________________________ 18

Figure 13 Actionbar Interface Element _______________________________________________ 18

Figure 14 Chat Interface Element ___________________________________________________ 18

Figure 15 Player Stats Interface Element ______________________________________________ 18

Figure 16 3D Game with Interface ___________________________________________________ 19

Figure 17 what is your Gender? _____________________________________________________ 21

Figure 18 what is your age? ________________________________________________________ 21

Figure 19 do you play computer games? ______________________________________________ 22

Figure 20 have you played games on any of the following equipment? ______________________ 22

Figure 21 have you ever played MMORPGs? ___________________________________________ 22

Figure 22 select the MMORPGs you have played _______________________________________ 22

Figure 23 do current MMORPGs have similar aspects to their interface ______________________ 23

Figure 24 does the MMORPG interface show too much information? _______________________ 23

Figure 25 Do you think mobile devices should be more focused on transitory interfaces than

Consoles or PCs? _________________________________________________________________ 23

Figure 26 would you prefer more game information on your screen or see more of the game

environment ____________________________________________________________________ 23

Figure 27 which video feels more immersive ___________________________________________ 24

Figure 28 does a transitory interface sound like a way to improve immersion in a game world? ___ 24

Figure 29 Which combat video feels more immersive? ___________________________________ 24

Figure 30 Walking with Transitory interface ____________________________________________ 24

Figure 31 Combat with Transitory interface ____________________________________________ 25

file:///C:/Users/AngelX/Desktop/Immersive%20Behaviour%20of%20Transitory%20User%20Interfaces.docx%23_Toc276363177



































6 Introduction

Research into the immersive behaviour of transitory user interfaces, is a study into the

effect that user interface transitions can help determine how an end user relates to a given

game environment. A transition is the movement between one state and another state

relating specifically to the interface. The states being examined are from full opacity to zero

opacity, i.e. the interface object is fully transparent which then transitions to an invisible

state dependent upon specific criteria within the game environment. The focused area

within the computing field being examined is the gaming industry, with a specific focus

based upon Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) interfaces.

An example of a transitory user interface can be seen by examining Figures 1 to 3, Figure 1

shows the user interface in full view with no transitions. This is the current state of

MMORPGs today; where the interface is fully present, unless chosen to be hidden. Figure 2

shows the transition in play, aspects of the interface having disappeared due to not being

needed; these are the players health state, the chat interface and action bars. With the final

fully transitioned interface being shown in Figure 3, the character is standing still, neither

being attacked by the environment or talking to other players as such, the user interface

hides until needed and the game world is brought into play to increase the players

immersive connection with the game.

The user interface is the method employed by the

designer to bring game information to the end

user. This can be shown as text (i.e. chat

capability) or as a graphical representation (i.e.

health bars, navigation…). The end goal of this

research determines if too much information is

being portrayed and the relevancy of viewing

specific sets of data at a certain point in time

during gameplay will effect the immersion level for

the player.

Figure 1 Non-Transitioned Interface Figure 2 Semi Transitioned Interface

Figure 3 Fully Transitioned Interface



7 This research is designed to open up the potential of transitory user interface for a diversity

of gaming platforms. To increase the immersion factor of a player in a MMORPG, where the

player purchases it on a monthly basis, this would allow for any companies using transitory

interfaces to engage the end user more succinctly and hence allowing for more profit

revenue. In addition to MMORPG gaming, a side effect would be increasing the immersion

factor of a non-online game by introducing well timed and well planned transitions for the

interface, this enables players to receive a better experience.

Testing of the user interface covers implementation of a prototype on a computer, console

and handheld device, this will allow for the determination of interface interaction based

upon the device being used and the immersion level this offers. The test was based upon

the same style of game but from differing perspectives, i.e. the different viewpoints from

two dimensional to three dimensional game design and based upon the screen size of the

device being used, i.e. TV, monitor and device dependent.



8 Literature Review

Current research into transitory interface design for massively multiplayer online games is

rare. As such, this paper is being written to fill a missing aspect of game design that is based

upon the immersion level of the end user. The transition of the user interface is a singular

aspect of a multifaceted genre known as MMORPGs which has been overlooked.

Articles exist that portray specific aspects of the user experience, for example Neo-

Immersion: Awareness and Engagement in Gameplay (Jennifer Whitson, 2010); a paper

discussing the immersion capability of gamers and specific hardware, with an emphasis on

differing controllers. An additional article is Influence of Avatar Creation on Attitude,

Empathy, Presence and Para-Social Interaction (Donghun Chung, 2007), this article is written

to examine the empathetic nature a player develops towards their avatar during character

creation. As can be seen, there are papers that engage aspects of immersion within a

gaming environment with nothing specifically aimed at interface transitions.

As such, literature relating to transitional user interfaces from non-MMORPGs systems has

been researched to help procure a sufficient knowledge base to answer the question of

immersive behaviour for the transitory interface. Research into mobile devices on user

interface showed that in the paper TapGlance (Robbins, 2008), user interaction was

discussed with a methodology of providing the end user with a data rich environment based

upon a limited screen size. TapGlance appears to be the precursor to the Metro design that

is the new user interface for the Windows Phone 7. A user interface that is based heavily

upon transition between screens, which also allows for only relevant information to be

presented. Research regarding natural user interface (Knies, 2010) also provided additional

information in regards to

transition timing.

Examination of the history of

user interface design is in

order to be able to understand

the importance of transitory

interfaces. In the beginning

there was Adventure (Bartle,

Summary MUD History, 1997)

a simple text based game

designed by William Crowther

in 1975 (Adams, 1997)to enable communication between himself and his daughters to share

his passion of cave exploration. Propagation of the game occurred as it was passed around

by friend to friend, where it then expanded onto various university computers. In 1976

(Adams, 1997), Don Woods discovered a copy of Adventure on the Stanford University’s

system, where he then took it upon himself to contact Crowther and receive permission to

expand the current game.

Figure 4 Zork Interface (Barton, 2008)



9 Zork, a 1977 creation was founded upon similar concepts to Adventure, still a single player

game, but was re-coded into many different computer languages, this allowed for its global

propagation. As can be seen in Figure 4, the

Zork interface is a simple text description that

informs the user of the surrounding

environment. Evolving on from the popularity

of Zork came MUD. MUD, the first multi-user

game, (Bartle, Interactive Mutli-User Games,

1990) implemented communication between

users from differing locations at a the same

time. Though MUD was limited to 12 players

through PSS(packet switching services) lines,

with a potential of 4 more players via a 300

baud modem (Bartle, Richard A. Bartle MUD

Advanced Project Report , 1985), this paradigm of allowing multiple users interacting

through the same user interface relied heavily on the immersion factor that a simple text

based interface offered.

Skipping ahead through the timeline to 1994, MUDs were a consistent presence in most

university’s computer lab; the world was building up to a paradigm in computing interfaces.

Windows 95 was going to be introduced to the general populace, this change in how

personal computers would be displaying information to the user brought about a new

method of interaction with programs. The new look interface, was showing that the days of

command line driven games would be coming to a close for a majority of users. At this time

the Kirmse brothers had begun creating a new game, Meridian 59® (Kirmse A. , 2000).

Though the graphics were 2D, users no longer had to deal with pure text based information

regarding the current position and game state that the user was involved in. The evolution

of Meridian 59 was based upon a true client to server infrastructure that was limited purely

to the hardware that server was ran upon. Due to this capability the alpha version could

handle 35 players simultaneously (3 times that of MUD) and when Meridian 59® evolved

into beta, the system was capable of several hundred users simultaneous (Kirmse A. , 2000).

With the introduction of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for gaming, the interface was now a critical element to ensure immersion factors for gamers. Richard Bartle stated that there were four situations that would influence the immersion factor of a player, these are

i) Achievement within the game context. ii) Exploration of the game. iii) Socialising with others. iv) Imposition upon others.

(Bartle, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players who suit MUDS, 1996)

Figure 5 Meridian 59 Evolved Graphics

(EuroGamer, 2010)



10 With the evolution of the user interface the four immersion factors that were discussed in Bartle’s paper have come to the fore. Socialising was a prime component of the early MUDs, and yet with the introduction of GUIs as a means of interacting with the game and fellow players, the user interface became a major component of how MMORPGs should be designed. Over the course of six years the graphical interface was upgraded, even with setbacks in the artistic department (Kirmse A. , 2000) for Meridian 59®. As can be seen in Figure 5, the interface is a far cry from the command line interface that was present in early MUDs.

The immersion factor of MMORPGs had taken a major leap in the evolutionary chain that creates up online gaming history. At this point in time, the introduction of a graphical map(Figure 5, top right) was in place, this ability to locate useful locations within the game environment has continued and is present in most modern day online games as a default part of the interface.

Figure 5, also shows the location of the chat interface which has also maintained a prominent position as part of the user interface. Current and new MMORPGs have maintained the location, bottom left of the screen, for the chat communication window.

Meridian 59®, a breakthrough in user interface design for online gaming, was in essence, 2D graphics portrayed to the user with the aim to increase the immersion factor of the game. Though 2D interfaces and games maintain their place in the history of online gaming, 1999 brought about the introduction of a 3D MMORPG that held sway to a multitude of players; Everquest® (Sony Online, 2009).

Everquest® introduced to the world, three dimensional graphics, once again showing that the gaming environment and interface was developing along with the computing power of the time. Figure 6 shows one of the major immersion factors that Bartle listed, socialising with others (Bartle, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players who suit MUDS, 1996). In some aspects the interface of 2002 was the same as first created in 1994, chat was and remains a prominent feature of the online gaming community with the players statistics being displayed on the screen with a high visibility.

Figure 6 demonstrates the 1st of Bartle’s immersion factors, this being the achievement of the players during the course of the game. The human immersion level for Everquest® has

Figure 6 Everquest Interface (The Shadow

Council, 2002)

Figure 7 Star Wars Galaxies (ActionTrip, 2003)



11 garnered a player base of 430,000 players stretching over 40 countries (Sony Online Entertainment, 2004), which demonstrates the power of an immersive interface within a 3D world, where the world interacts with multiple players.

Everquest® maintained a simple interface, which accounts for the longevity of the game, but at the time it was not the only MMORPG in existence. June 2003, showed the introduction of Star Wars Galaxies® (Lucasarts, 2003), as a majority of MMORPGs were fantasy based the creation of a science fiction, licensed MMORPG was new and as it was in a new genre, the interface had to evolve. A new genre entailed a new interface, though as can be seen, elements are common between both Figure 6 and 7 in the information that is displayed to the user.

The differences in interface are extremely apparent when comparing Figure 6 to Figure 7, bright colours were used to ensure that player’s eyes would be able to distinguish important information, chat was moved to the centre of the screen, still maintaining its prime position on the bottom of the screen, it was no longer pushed to the left hand side. The mapping system was now positioned in the position of bottom left of the screen, with action bars (commands that were linked to the function keys on the keyboard) being placed in the centre top of the screen. In addition to these changes in user interface layout, Star Wars Galaxies® had, as part of its options panel, the ability to re-colour the entire layout of the user interface. Now the user had control, albeit limited, over how the game was visually portrayed to them. In addition to colouring, the user interface was also able to be dragged around the screen. In this manner the user had the ability to design the interface to the method they preferred.

The game’s graphics had evolved as well as the interface. Full 3D environments with advanced lighting capability made Star Wars Galaxies® a visually pleasing game, with time effecting the way the graphics were displayed to the user, i.e. night and day produced differing effects on the same locations. In the online gaming community, there have been few games that have undergone as many changes in core design and structure of the interface as Star Wars Galaxies®, this can be seen in Figure 8, the general layout is similar to Figure 7. Yet aspects have been improved upon, such as the graphical icons for the action bars, the modified mapping system was linked to section of the user interface called waypoints that

Figure 8 Star Wars Galaxies Graphic Update (Kid,

2006)

Figure 9 Star Wars Galaxies User Interface 2010

(Costain, 2009)



12 supplied more information to the user in regards to mission critical data and locations. The user interface changes produced a more visually pleasing look without modifying the entire structure of the screen layout. Figure 9 is a screen shot after the first evolution of the game, dubbed ‘The Combat Upgrade’ which occurred April 2005 (Massey, 2005).

Figure 9, shows the current user interface of Star Wars Galaxies®, which when compared with Figures 8 and 9, shows a radically different interface. This is the latest evolution of interface for the game, referred to as the ‘New Game Enhancements’, or NGE for short it occurred on the 15th November of 2005. (Varney, 2007).

The interface information being shown to the end user was simplified. As an example of this evolution of the interface Figure 9 shows that the user’s avatars attributes (shown in the top left hand of the screen); body, action and mind have evolved through the various iterations of the interface. Figure 8 displayed body and action details, with a force bar; the force bar was related to the character choice of a Jedi in the game. The mind attribute had been removed by the game designers during the ‘Combat Upgrade’, which simplified the interface and the core combat of the game. During its final evolution to date, the NGE removed the force bar for Jedi characters, reducing the complexity of characters stats to body and action.

A year after the launch of Star Wars Galaxies® comes the most successful MMORPG in the world, World of Warcraft®. Figure 10 shows a default screen layout and design of World of Warcraft®, action bars, mapping systems, player stats and chat consists of the interface all placed out in a simple layout. Information is given to the user in a clear and colourful visual presentation.

As a game with huge following, World of Warcraft® set the bench mark for all future interfaces in game design, and when comparing Figure 9 to Figure 10, you can see that the simplicity of user interface was taken into consideration for the NGE upgrade to Star Wars Galaxies®.

In the paper, Exploring the Elements and Design Criteria of Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Interfaces (Chen, 2009), Chun-Cheng Hsu and Elvis Chih-Hsien Chen delved deeply into the current Human Computer Interaction (HCI) for games such as World of Warcraft® and Perfect World®. As part of their conclusion, they imparted that the interface being presented was being simplified to allow for users to have a shorter learning curve (Chen, 2009) and this can be seen during the evolution of the Star Wars Galaxies® interface.

Figure 10 World of Warcraft (MMOHut, 2009)



13 With the evolution of the user interface through MMORPGs it can be seen that more

information is being expressed to the end user in compact sections of the screen. This influx

of information adds a complex learning curve for the end user who has never played or

attempted to play a MMORPG. This is one of the main reasons for an examination into

transitory interface; allowing for only relevant data to be expressed to the end user.

Philosophy of Approach

The main approach to testing transitory interface design is to model and partially construct

a game environment so that the end user can experience the game to its fullest extent,

without being bombard by irrelevant information being displayed through the interface.

Data was collected using a survey that will then have the information collated and analysed

to determine if the interface transitions are producing an increased immersion factor or if

the theory of transitory interface can be considered valid by gaming peers.

The game interface examined is a version that is found in many MMORPGs (made popular

by World of Warcraft) and is continually being reproduced in the free versions of

MMORPGs. The final results of the survey will produce an indication towards future

interface design for complex online games.

Method

Overview

- Design World

- Create World – Maya

- Code into XNA – C#

- Port code for differing hardware

- Create Survey

- Collect Data

- Create Report

The practical aspect of the report revolves around producing a prototype of a three

dimensional immersive game environment; where the elements of the user interface are

being used as per the information collected via the survey.

The game design has evolved from a two dimensional (2D) game environment through

to a three dimensional (3D) environment during which knowledge of the XNA game

framework and C# language was obtained. In addition to programming languages,

creation and texturing of models through the Maya system was also learned.



14

Survey data was collected from a range of questions with video technology showing the

survey taker what a transitory interface looks like.

With the collection of data, a prototype game has been produced to showcase the

transitory interface options that have been indicated by gaming peers, with the game

being moved and tested on differing hardware; this hardware being PC, Xbox and

Zune/Windows Phone 7.



15 Information Gathering:

Pre survey Forms

o Subject reviews ethics clearance (Appendix 1)

o Subject read the ‘Explanatory Statement for Research Participants’

(Appendix 2)

o Subject Signed off on the ‘Participant Informed Consent’ (Appendix 3)

Survey Forms

o Subject to complete ‘Demographic Questionnaire Information’ form

(Appendix 4)

o Subject to complete ‘Gaming Questionnaire Information’ form (Appendix 5)

o Subject to complete ‘User Interface Questionnaire Information’ form

(Appendix 6)

o Subject to complete ‘Immersion Questionnaire Information’ form (Appendix

7)

Survey Forms collected and data collated into an excel spread sheet

Assemblage of testing Apparatus required

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Premiere

Autodesk Maya 2008

Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0

Microsoft Expression Studio

Internet Access for Survey

Microsoft Office 2010

Setup

- Creation of 2D Models in Expression Design (Appendix 8)

- Creation of 3D Models in Maya (Appendix 9)

- 2D Concept

o Creation of code to insert models into XNA framework

o Creation of code to allow for movement

o Creation of collision detection code

o Creation of user interface

o Creation of interaction with models

- 3D Concept

o Creation of code to insert models into XNA framework

o Creation of code to allow for movement

o Creation of collision detection code

o Creation of user interface



16 o Creation of interaction with models

- Additional Videos from a live game to ensure enough time for survey results.

o Game is Lord of the Rings; screen was captured by Expression encoder and

converted for web access.

Notes: The survey presented online contained video from the Lord of the Rings game

(Turbine, 2010), the video was captured with and without the user interface. Aspects of the

videos where then cut up and merged to create a transitory user interface. In this manner

the video footage shown would display the transitory interface in action and the video

would be available for the survey.

Process of Testing

The survey undertaken gathered results from a diverse range of participants. As such,

responses to the survey have occurred from Australia and America. Results were gathered

from an online source (http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/366745/Immersive-Behaviour-of-

Transitory-User-Interface) and then compiled into this paper.

With the information gathered, the results are shown and discussed below. Raw survey

results can be seen in Appendix 10. Critical analysis of the data is in regards to relevant

questions specific to the interface and immersion factors.

The survey was split into the following sections for ease of correlating discoveries

between questions and answers dependent upon the target audience’s knowledge

of MMORPGs. Section 1 was ethical clearance and acceptance from the end user to

participate in the survey;

Section 2 was based upon demographics of the participants;

Section 3 related to the participants gaming experience, this information was

gathered to determine the ‘expertise’ of the participant in regards to understanding

what a user interface is and how making it transitory would either improve or

degrade their playing experience.

Section 4 was all about the user interface, comparative questions and general

thoughts on what makes a good interface. This section is the core information in

regards to the report.

Section 5 discussed immersion for user interfaces, and contained videos of transitory

game play to improve the end participant’s ability to view and understand the survey

in its totality.

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/366745/Immersive-Behaviour-of-Transitory-User-Interface

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/366745/Immersive-Behaviour-of-Transitory-User-Interface



17 Practical Implementation

To create a practical game with the interface options to be considered for transitions, it was

necessary to start at the foundation with coding for XNA. This can be translated as, needing

to implement a simple 2 dimensional game with control before embarking upon 3

dimensional graphics and implementation.

Researching into the XNA framework showed that the default frame rate for Xbox and PC

games are at 60fps, mobile devices such as Zune and Windows Phone 7 are at 30fps. This

difference in graphic capability is down to the hardware present for a device. On a core

structural level, the framework of any game is split into sub sections; Initialize, Load

Content, Unload Content, Update and Draw. Each section capable of handling differing

aspects of the game, Update is called 60 times per second, hence generating 60fps as its

base frame rate.

To begin a 2 dimensional game, raw graphics were required. The graphics generated were

created in Expression Design, as the core capability of Expression Design made the graphics

Vector based. All 2 dimensional graphics can be located in Appendix 8. The goal of the 2

dimensional game was simple, load graphics, implement user control and add a simple

Artificial Intelligence to an Enemy.

The implementation of the 2 dimensional game (Seen in Figure 11) resulted in a simple side

on view game, a player (a yellow power-suit) would move around the screen and shoot at a

plan that flew overhead, a successful hit on the plane would increase the players score;

whereas the plane colliding with the player, removed a point from the score. User control

was implemented so that keyboard and Xbox 360 controller would be able to manipulate

the player. The Artificial Intelligence for the plane, made it so that if the plane successfully

made it to one side of the screen, it would start from a different height and

Figure 11 2 Dimensional Game



18 increase/decrease speed randomly. A side effect to implementing this game was the ability

to implement collision detection.

A major learning requirement was too be able to implement successfully the 2 dimensional

textures in the game. This was because the ultimate aim of this research was to implement

a 3 dimensional game with a transitory interface; research into MMORPGs have shown that

even a 3 dimensional game maintains a 2 dimensional interface for player interaction.

The interface that would undertake the transitory states would consist of the following

elements: Player health, Map, Chat and Action Bar. These elements were design in

Expression design and then imported into the XNA framework.

The elements were selected from examining a multitude of differing Eastern and Western

MMORPGs, with these elements being located in a majority of games. Screen interface

elements such as containers, money information and enemy health where not selected to

be part of the transitory experience as these elements are not always present on the screen.

With the elements of the interface selected the planning of the 3 dimensional models was

undertaken, with the models being created within Maya (Appendix 9). The reason that

Maya was selected as the 3D modelling tool over 3D Max, is that when the textures are

Figure 12 Map Interface Element

Figure 13 Actionbar Interface Element

Figure 14 Chat Interface Element

Figure 15 Player Stats Interface Element



19 applied throughout Maya, they translate extremely well onto the model once it is loaded

into XNA. There was a period of time where 3D Max was tested to implement working

textures but it eventually became too unreasonable a time frame for modelling

experimentation as the textures didn’t bake onto the model properly.

As the 3 dimensional game was an evolution of the 2 dimensional game, it seemed fitting to

evolve the 2 dimensional player character to a 3 dimensional character. Once the model was

created, there where challenges to load the model into XNA. Drawing and updating a 3

dimensional model is a new factor of complication upon the loading of simple 2 dimensional

textures. Each model that was created and imported into XNA, required that the model

meshes and bone structure was taken into consideration. As well as positioning no longer

being x or y (screen width and height), it was now x, y and z; height, width and depth.

The initial aspect of 3D modelling

was based upon getting a simple flat

plane model to display on the

screen. After the model displayed,

then testing occurred as texturing

was applied and put through XNA’s

content pipeline. With the success

of texturing and modelling working,

additional models were added, with

the player character model being

introduced to the environment.

Once the player model was in game,

user interaction was created and

applied; covering input from

keyboard, Xbox 360 controller and

mouse (the mouse simulates finger touches for deployment on mobile devices).

After movement was implemented, collision detection for 3d models was implemented. In

the game produced only certain models have collision implemented as there was only a

need to test collisions at certain times to trigger interface reactions.

Next aspect implemented was the user interface (Figure 16). As the research tests transitory

interface, timing for showing the interface was taken into consideration as well as the speed

of transitions. The base work flow for the interface is that when you first enter the game

you can view the entire interface, if you do nothing for a period of time the interface

disappears and then allows for the end players immersion into the game world. If the

interface has disappeared from the screen, it is brought back by simple in-game triggers.

Movement activates the map to be brought present, simulated chat showcases the chat bar,

with collision detection on the player bringing forth the players health states and the action

Figure 16 3D Game with Interface



20 bar. If the triggers are not met, i.e. walking and chatting but with no collisions, then the

interface only shows the relevant aspects of the user interface.

At the time of this writing, the practical aspect is complete, a 3D game environment exists

with specific triggers that activate the transition of the interface from being present on

screen to having the interface remove itself it not being used.



21 Analysis of Results

All images shown within the Analysis of results section can be located in Appendix 10 for

clearer viewing of the collected results.

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:

The base demographic information

collected relates the end users gender

and age, with geographical information

being collected via the online survey

software.

As can be seen by the Figure 17, 64% of

the participants were of male

orientation with 36% being female, this

shows that the data being collected was

not of a purely male perspective, which

when combined with the information

gathered from Figure 18, where the age

ranges from 19 up to and beyond 55,

shows that there is a high diversity of

people that were sampled. Geographical

information collected, indicates that the

survey was well received from various

locations around the world.

This diversity of demographic detail allows for an overview of what the general populace

would consider when it occurs to a transitory interface. Even though the sample size of the

survey was smaller than anticipated the age, gender and geographic location is of a diverse

enough range to accommodate a general view of the populace at large.

Figure 17 what is your Gender?

Figure 18 what is your age?



22 GAMING EXPERIENCE:

Figure 19 and Figure 20 work together to help determine

what the gaming experience of the survey participant is.

As can be seen, from the pie and bar charts, a majority of

participants play games, and have experience with a

wide variety of gaming platforms. This information

indicates that the survey taker has a broad base

of knowledge to work from.

This ability of the end user to experience games

from differing platforms allows for a more

valued opinion as they are not limited to a

singular aspect of a gaming interface. For

example, games that are often played on a PC

allow for a more in-depth interface than those

located on a Nintendo Wii.

The survey resulted in 76% of participants

having played MMORPGs as shown in Figure 21. This percentage

of game players indicates that the questions specifically aimed

at MMORPG interfaces were well answered.

Figure 22 shows that 70% of the participants

have played World of Warcraft; this is the most popular MMORPG in the western world with

10 million players (Guniess Book of

Records). The user interface of World of

Warcraft has been duplicated in many of

the free MMORPGs (Altay, 2010) and as

such is a prime candidate for examining

the transitory nature of user interfaces in

MMORPGs. The interface for World of

Warcraft was one of the main reasons for

this research to be conducted as the

interface can be manipulated to show a

large and complex amount of data to the

end user.

The information gathered in this section

of the survey indicates that a majority of

participants will recognise the

terminology and grasp the significance of

Figure 19 do you play computer

games?

Figure 20 have you played games on any of the

following equipment?

Figure 21 have you ever played MMORPGs?

Figure 22 select the MMORPGs you have played



23

Figure 26 would you prefer more game information on your

screen or see more of the game environment

Figure 25 Do you think mobile devices

should be more focused on transitory

interfaces than Consoles or PCs?

this survey. As participants with little to no gaming

knowledge will not have the experience required to grasp the

concept of implementing transitory interfaces in a complex and

involved game environment.

USER INTERFACE:

The initial set of questions in this section of the

survey relates to determining if the participant has

consciously determined there is a similarity between

MMORPG interfaces. As can be seen in

Figure 23, 72% of participants recognised

familiar aspects.

An interesting discovery was that even

though 72% of participants determined

that the current interfaces of MMORPGs

do not show too much information, as

displayed in Figure 24; Figure 26 indicates

that 75% of the participants prefer to view

more of the game environment. This

response leads directly into the theory that

introducing transitory interfaces to a MMORPG would be a

substantial method of increasing the immersion level of a

majority of game players. The transition would allow both

aspects of “correct amount of on-screen information” and

“more game environment” to be satisfied.

The information gathered around screen real estate was

applied to the interface that is located on mobile devices.

Figure 25 confirms that transitory

interfaces should be considered of higher

importance when designing for mobile

interfaces, via the majority (70%) selection.

Participants concern for transitory

interfaces on mobile devices was mainly

due to the actual size of the device. The

participants recognised that the mobile

device has significant real estate(game

screen size) issues when dealing with

games (Appendix 10).

Figure 23 do current MMORPGs

have similar aspects to their

interface

Figure 24 does the MMORPG interface show too much

information?



24 Viewing figures 19 through to 26 has shown

that the participant of the survey understood

that they wanted more game environment and

yet they maintained the need for complex

information at any point in time during game

play. Comments made by the participants

(Appendix 10) indicate that even when allowing

transitory interfaces for game design, there

should be an option that allows you to disable

the transition. Thereby allowing the end user to prioritise the

specific game information they desire and hence allowing the end

user to determine their personal immersion level for the game.

IMMERSION:

This block of questions in the survey determines the

participants overall view on transitory interfaces. In

addition to viewing and answering simple questions, the

participant viewed multiple videos that showcased a current user

interface doing certain aspects with a MMORPG, such as walking

and fighting. Compared with a clean (no interface) option of the

same action and then these videos were followed by displaying a

video of the same action with a transitory interface implemented.

Figure 28 showed that upon initial asking, that 83% of the

participants believed that transitory interfaces

improve immersion.

Figure 29 and 27 are comparative results

from the survey, Figure 28 relates to the

participants ability to determine what feels

more immersive when walking through the

game environment. Figure 31, refers to

combat within the game environment.

When walking, 70% of the participants

preferred no user interface as this drew

them more into the game world. With

combat, it was an even 50% split on which

was more immersive, with or without the

interface.

The pie chart displayed in Figure 30

indicates that with a transitory interface

only 59% believe that the transition of the navigation map improves gameplay, even though

Figure 28 does a transitory interface

sound like a way to improve immersion

in a game world?

Figure 27 which video feels more immersive

Figure 29 Which combat video feels more immersive?

Figure 30 Walking with Transitory interface



25 an additional 90% of the interface was hidden during the example. With 29% neutral on this

decision means that a game with a transitory interface would allow for 88% of participants

to either be more immersed in

the game or not have their

playing style disrupted.

So with a minimal figure of 12%

that would be affected by the

transition of the user interface

for general movement in a game

this indicates that the immersion

level would be improved.

With combat and moving being

a major component of any

MMORPG, these are the two

main aspects of MMORPG

gaming that underwent

transitory interface

modifications for the survey.

Figure 31, this chart describes the participant’s views on combat with transitory interfaces

and as the numbers portray 63% stated that a transitory interface improved gameplay. The

neutral stand was at 25%, so once again, the introduction of a transitory interface would not

disrupt or improves 88% of the gaming participants.

Figure 31 Combat with Transitory interface



26 Conclusions

This Thesis demonstrates how the impact of a transitioning user interface can enhance the

game play and immersion level for the end user of a MMORPG. By limiting the amount of

data that is presented to the end user at any one point in time the immersion factor is

increased. As discovered via the survey, even with the ability to transition relevant aspects

of information to the end user, the user desires the ability to set which data can be made

persistent throughout gameplay, this indicates an in-game option to help enhance

transitional interfaces.

The utilisation of a transitory interface in varying devices such as personal computer games,

console games and the mobile games have shown that design and interaction of the

interface is a critical element of game play. The amount of information being displayed to

the end user has a significant impact on how well the end user experiences the game

environment and hence the immersion factor of the game. This is also dependent upon the

device being used.

With the introduction of gaming consoles with unique human computer interaction

paradigms such as PS3 Move, Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360’s Kinect. In the future, it will be

essential to have only relevant information during game play and this will be a critical aspect

for creating successful game titles. As such transitory interfaces will ensure that games can

contain a high level of complexity without destroying the immersion factor that each game

enables.

The results of the survey, presented that 88% of participants would not be affected by the

introduction of transitory interfaces and a high percentage, 63%, preferring it to current

user interface design. These numbers indicate that transitory interfaces are going to be a

large aspect of future game design.

As such, the user interface of today’s modern Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing

Game’s should be re-examined and modified to introduce transitions to ensure that the

immersion behaviour of the game world is increased.



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Galaxies



29 Appendices



30 Appendix 1



31 Appendix 2



32 Appendix 3



33 Appendix 4



34 Appendix 5



35



36 Appendix 6



37



38



39 Appendix 7



40



41



42 Appendix 8



43



44 Appendix 9



45



46



47



48 Appendix 10 HAVE YOU READ AND AGREE TO THE ABOVE ETHICS REVIEW?

Value Count Percent % Yes 25 100% No

0%

Statistics Total Responses 25

HAVE YOU READ THE EXPLANATORY STATEMENT FOR RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS?


0%




49 DO YOU AGREE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SURVEY?


0%

Statistics Total Responses 25 WHAT IS YOUR GENDER

Value Count Percent % Male 16 64% Female 9 36% Statistics Total Responses 25



50

WHAT IS YOUR AGE?

Value Count Percent % under 18

0%

18-24 13 52% 25-34 3 12% 35-54 8 32% 55+ 1 4% Statistics Total Responses 25 Sum 644.0 Average 25.8 StdDev 9.64 Max 55.0

WHAT IS YOUR OCCUPATION?

Value Count Percent % Accounting / Finance / Banking

0%

Administration / Clerical / Reception

0% Advertisement / PR

0%



51 Value Count Percent % Architecture / Design

0%

Arts/Leisure / Entertainment

0% Beauty / Fashion

0%

Buying / Purchasing

0% Construction

0%

Consulting

0% Customer Service 1 4% Distribution

0%

Education 3 12% Health Care (Physical & Mental)

0%

Human resources management 1 4% Management (Senior / Corporate)

0%

News / Information

0% Operations / Logistics

0%

Planning (Meeting, Events, etc.)

0% Production

0%

Real Estate

0% Research

0%

Restaurant / Food service

0% Sales / Marketing

0%

Science / Technology / Programming 4 16% Social service

0%

Student 15 60% Other 1 4% N/A - Unemployed / Retired / Homemaker

0%


DO YOU PLAY COMPUTER GAMES?

Value Count Percent % Yes 24 96% No 1 4% Statistics Total Responses 25



52

HAVE YOU PLAYED GAMES ON ANY OF THE FOLLOWING EQUIPMENT?

Value Count Percent % Personal Computer(Windows/Linux/Mac) 25 100% Xbox/Xbox 360 18 72% Playstation 2/Playstation 3 17 68% Wii 20 80% Mobile Phone 21 84% Nintendo DS 10 40% Gameboy 13 52% Other Hand Held Devices 8 32% N/A 1 4% Statistics Total Responses 25

INDICATE YOUR SKILL LEVEL IN THE FOLLOWING GENRE OF GAMES

Very Good

Good Neutral Poor Very Poor

Not Applicable

Total

Real Time Strategy (RTS) 25.9% 7

37.0% 10

22.2% 6

7.4% 2

3.7% 1

3.7% 1

100% 27

Strategy 25.9% 7

40.7% 11

22.2% 6

3.7% 1

3.7% 1

3.7% 1

100% 27

Vehicle Simulation 20.0% 5

24.0% 6

28.0% 7

12.0% 3

12.0% 3

4.0% 1

100% 25

Person Simulation 20.0% 5

32.0% 8

28.0% 7

8.0% 2

4.0% 1

8.0% 2

100% 25

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG)

37.9% 11

13.8% 4

20.7% 6

13.8% 4

3.4% 1

10.3% 3

100% 29

First Person Shooter (FPS) 34.6% 9

23.1% 6

26.9% 7

3.8% 1

11.5% 3

0.0% 0

100% 26



53

HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED MMORPGS (MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE PLAYING GAMES)


SELECT THE MMORPGS YOU'VE PLAYED

Value Count Percent % World of Warcraft 12 70.6% Star Wars Galaxies 3 17.6% Everquest 2 11.8% Dungeons and Dragons 3 17.6% Lord of the Rings 2 11.8% 2Moons 1 5.9% 9 Dragons 1 5.9% Age of Conan 2 11.8%



54 Value Count Percent % City of Heroes/City of Villians 2 11.8% Final Fantasy XI 1 5.9% Free Realms 1 5.9% Guild Wars 3 17.6% Eve 5 29.4% Maple Story 2 11.8% Perfect World 1 5.9% Rappelz 3 17.6% Star Trek Online 2 11.8% Ultima Online 1 5.9% Statistics Total Responses 17 Sum 11.0 Average 5.5 StdDev 3.50 Max 9.0

HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED THE SAME GAME ON MULTIPLE DEVICES? IE PC, XBOX...




55

DO CURRENT MMORPGS ALL HAVE SIMILAR ASPECTS TO THEIR INTERFACE?

Value Count Percent % 1

0%

2 4 16% 3

0%

4 2 8% 5 3 12% 6 8 32% 7 7 28% NA 1 4% Statistics Total Responses 25 Sum 128.0 Average 5.3 StdDev 1.72 Max 7.0

INDICATE WHICH INTERFACE OPTIONS ARE FOUND ON MOST MMORPGS

Yes they are there I'm Not Sure Not Applicable Total

Map 84.6% 22

11.5% 3

3.8% 1

100% 26

Chat bar 80.8% 21

15.4% 4

3.8% 1

100% 26

Action bar 80.0% 20

16.0% 4

4.0% 1

100% 25

Health Bar 88.5% 23

7.7% 2

3.8% 1

100% 26

Enemy Health Bar 64.0% 16

28.0% 7

8.0% 2

100% 25

Inventory 84.6% 22

11.5% 3

3.8% 1

100% 26



56 Quest Log

76.9% 20

15.4% 4

7.7% 2

100% 26

Options Icon 66.7% 18

25.9% 7

7.4% 2

100% 27

DOES THE MMORPG INTERFACE SHOW TOO MUCH INFORMATION?


WOULD YOU PREFER MORE GAME INFORMATION ON YOUR SCREEN(HEALTH/CHAT...) OR SEE MORE OF THE GAME

ENVIRONMENT?

Value Count Percent % More game Information 6 25% More game World 18 75% Statistics Total Responses 24



57 WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT HAVING ASPECTS OF THE INTERFACE DISAPPEAR DURING GAMEPLAY IF THAT

INFORMATION IS NOT RELEVANT TO CURRENT GAME PLAY?

Disagree (Always need the information)

Neutral (I like current design)

Agree (To hide information)

Not Applicable

Total

Health Bar 50.0% 12

0.0% 0

45.8% 11

4.2% 1

100% 24

Map 48.0% 12

28.0% 7

20.0% 5

4.0% 1

100% 25

Chat 16.7% 4

12.5% 3

66.7% 16

4.2% 1

100% 24

Action Bar 16.7% 4

29.2% 7

50.0% 12

4.2% 1

100% 24

Options Icon

12.5% 3

33.3% 8

50.0% 12

4.2% 1

100% 24

Inventory 20.8% 5

8.3% 2

66.7% 16

4.2% 1

100% 24

Enemy Bar 34.8% 8

8.7% 2

56.5% 13

0.0% 0

100% 23

Quest Log 16.7% 4

16.7% 4

62.5% 15

4.2% 1

100% 24

IF ASPECTS OF THE INTERFACE WERE TO BE REMOVED, HOW WOULD YOU PREFER IT TO OCCUR?

Value Count Percent % Instant removal from screen 6 24% Slow fade from screen 19 76% Statistics Total Responses 25



58 IN REGARDS TO MOBILE DEVICES, IS IT BETTER TO HAVE THE INTERFACE PRESENT AT ALL TIMES?


WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ON A GAME INTERFACE IF THE GAME WAS 2D ON A MOBILE DEVICE? IE: PACMAN,

ASTEROIDS...

ID Response Data 101 health, lives 102 Simple, Clean, intuitive

107 Bare Minimum. Screen space is important. If you can get away with only having one small button to bring up menu's and only rely on touch gestures that would appeal to me.

108 Healthbar

109

Key information, but only when applicable. Ultimately it would be better if this information was represented in the game world rather than as UI elements, but that also depends on the game type. For the common 2D games: health, score, ammo, time limit should be the only items required, where applicable.

111 score, lives, health 112 Only the minimum necessary 114 Lives, score, level and power-ups. 115 Number of lives 117 not much coz the screens are so small 120 Basic Health and map 122 Score, Lives 123 progress info 125 Health,score

126 Difficult to say without a specific example of a game, I'd need what I felt was relevant to play the game, be informed about the game details and not have the gameplay obstructed.

127 A lot of the old Super Nintendo games have good ideas and systems that could translate well to mobile devices, while avoiding intensive graphics.

128 dont play games on mobile 130 Options and score/health/inventory 131 Score, health, elapsed time, and a toggled panel for other social notifications.



59 WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ON A GAME INTERFACE IF THE GAME WAS 3D ON A MOBILE DEVICE? IE: WORLD OF

WARCRAFT, CALL OF DUTY....

ID Response Data 101 health, map, chat 102 Again, simple, shows all relevant information to the mechanics of these games.

107 Bare Minimum. Screen space is important. If you can get away with only having one small button to bring up menu's and only rely on touch gestures that would appeal to me.

108 health bar, map, buffs,

109 Again the information should be presented immersively through the game world rather than separate UI elements, however the same key elements should be there, but not all of the time. Contextual UI would be preferable to permanent clutter.

112 Only the minimum necessary 114 Inventory, map, health/mana bar and skills (weps and magic).

115 Health bar, should be able to tap character and actions pop up, icon to see full map when tapped.

117 not much coz the screens are so small 120 Basic Health, map 122 Ammo, Map overlay 123 only the essential info/status 125 Health map 126 As above.

127 I don't believe 3D is a good direction to take with regards to mobile devices. My experience with handheld 3D games has been poor, with the controls lacking precision.

128 dont play games on mobile 130 Not sure, haven't played 3D before. 131 Health, enemy health

DO YOU THINK MOBILE DEVICES SHOULD BE MORE FOCUSED ON TRANSITORY INTERFACES THAN CONSOLES OR PCS?

Value Count Percent % Yes 17 70.8% No 7 29.2% Statistics Total Responses 24



60 PLEASE JUSTIFY YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PREVIOUS QUESTION.

ID Response Data 101 smaller screen, hidden UI means more real estate for game

102 These games are very rich and complex. In order to correctly asses any situation you need all your information present and available to you, and a handheld cannot provide that due to lack of screen real-estate.

107 There was no "Neutral" option. Where as I don't believe it matters. 108 less screen space on mobile devices, free up the space with les interfsces

109

Mobile devices have a fairly limited screen space in comparison to consoles and PCs, and not just in pixel resolution, the screen sizes on mobile devices are too small for the clutter modern games present, and require a different UI to allow for key information to remain legible. Showing only relevant information should be paramount, and whenever possible information that is in immersed in the game world should be kept to an absolute minimum.

112 Smaller screen space 114 This is due to mobile devices not having as much screen 'real estate'.

115 The screens smaller, if it's touch you have to worry bout the size of your finger. I guess more accustomed to pc's having too. Would be cool if you could hide it but it would have to be really easy to pop back up.

117 see 20 & 21

120 Mainly due to the size of the screen and the reduce running abilities the transitory interfaces make more sense in the mobile devices industry.

122 Not enough room on a mobile device

123 a LOT less space to work with so they need to make use of it in the most efficient way possible

125 Smaller screen giving less area to view game so screen information should not always be present

126

I don't know if it needs to be platform dependent so much as specific game dependent. Games which are not on mobile devices tend to be more complicated, or require more information, not all of which may be needed at any given time, so perhaps they would be more useful there.

127 Relatively small screen space for mobile devices makes persistant interfaces much more of an issue than they would be for PC or console games.

128 dont play games on mobile WTF is a transitory interface lol

130 Mobiles should offer something similar to PCs in order to have familiarity of playing the game

131

Mobile devices generally have a lot less screen space to work with, therefore, it makes sense to provide rather minimalistic interfaces to allow the gamer to fully enjoy the graphics/gameplay without all of the information that would be readily availible on a PC (due to a pc's ability to have high resolution displays with scaled/customizable interfaces.)



61 DOES A TRANSITORY INTERFACE SOUND LIKE A WAY TO IMPROVE IMMERSION IN A GAME WORLD?

Value Count Percent % Yes 20 83.3% No 4 16.7% Statistics Total Responses 24

WHICH VIDEO FEELS MORE IMMERSIVE?

Value Count Percent % Video 1 - Full user interface 7 29.2% Video 2 - No user interface 17 70.8% Statistics Total Responses 24



62 AFTER VIEWING NO USER INTERFACE AND FULL USER INTERFACE FOR WALKING. COMPARE WITH THE TRANSITORY USER

INTERFACE VIDEO. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU THAT THE TRANSITION OF THE MAP IMPROVES GAMEPLAY

Value Count Percent % 9 4 16.7% 7 10 41.7% 5 7 29.2% 3 2 8.3% 1 1 4.2% NA

0%

Statistics Total Responses 24 Sum 148.0 Average 6.2 StdDev 1.99 Max 9.0

WHICH COMBAT VIDEO FEELS MORE IMMERSIVE?

Value Count Percent % Video 1 - No User Interface 12 50% Video 2 - Full User Interface 12 50% Statistics



63 Value Count Percent % Total Responses 24

AFTER VIEWING NO USER INTERFACE AND FULL USER INTERFACE FOR COMBAT. COMPARE WITH THE TRANSITORY USER

INTERFACE VIDEO. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU THAT THE TRANSITION OF THE HEALTH BAR AND ACTION BAR IMPROVES

GAMEPLAY?

Value Count Percent % 9 3 12.5% 7 12 50% 5 6 25% 3 1 4.2% 1 2 8.3% NA

0%

Statistics Total Responses 24 Sum 146.0 Average 6.1 StdDev 2.08 Max 9.0

WHAT PROVIDES IMMERSION IN YOUR GAMING EXPERIENCE?

Strongly disagree

Moderately disagree

Slightly disagree

Neutral Slightly agree

Moderately agree

Strongly agree

Not Applicable

Total

Graphics 4.2% 1

0.0% 0

0.0% 0

12.5% 3

12.5% 3

37.5% 9

33.3% 8

0.0% 0

100% 24

Social Aspect 4.2% 1

4.2% 1

4.2% 1

16.7% 4

33.3% 8

20.8% 5

16.7% 4

0.0% 0

100% 24

Completion of Quests

0.0% 0

4.2% 1

4.2% 1

20.8% 5

20.8% 5

41.7% 10

8.3% 2

0.0% 0

100% 24

Awarding of Badges

0.0% 0

7.7% 2

7.7% 2

23.1% 6

30.8% 8

19.2% 5

11.5% 3

0.0% 0

100% 26

Exploration of Game World

4.3% 1

0.0% 0

4.3% 1

13.0% 3

17.4% 4

21.7% 5

39.1% 9

0.0% 0

100% 23

PVP (Player vs 8.3% 4.2% 4.2% 33.3% 25.0% 16.7% 8.3% 0.0% 100%



64 Player) 2 1 1 8 6 4 2 0 24 PVE (Player vs Environment)

4.2% 1

0.0% 0

4.2% 1

20.8% 5

20.8% 5

29.2% 7

20.8% 5

0.0% 0

100% 24

Guilds 0.0% 0

4.3% 1

26.1% 6

4.3% 1

26.1% 6

30.4% 7

8.7% 2

0.0% 0

100% 23

Groups 0.0% 0

4.3% 1

21.7% 5

13.0% 3

21.7% 5

21.7% 5

17.4% 4

0.0% 0

100% 23

Genre (ie Sci Fi, Fantasy...)

0.0% 0

4.3% 1

8.7% 2

17.4% 4

8.7% 2

26.1% 6

34.8% 8

0.0% 0

100% 23

ANY FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT USER INTERFACE FOR GAMES?

ID Response Data 101 Opaque more.

102 Yes, a transative interface looks pretty and immersive, but it detracts from the gameplay, as you need to be aware and ready for any surprise that may occur, and this changing interface, does not assist that.

107 Question 29 Depends greatly on the current in game environment

108 experience changes on the situation in game play. real estate is important but not if the player becomes unmotivated in the game because of having a lak of information on the screen

109

Whilst a Transitory interface is a step forward for UI in games, especially MMORPGs, an immersive interface such as the one found in Dead Space provides the most immersion. If UI elements can be implanted into the game world through visual representations, all of the required information can still be conveyed to the player without detaching them from the experience every time they need to check a stat. Far Cry 2 attempted this with the map and some other aids only appearing in the players hands, although information like health was still an on-screen element. I believe that in the application of this UI paradigm, context should be considered, however wherever possible, the complete removal of UI elements should be attempted.

114 I like the idea of a transitory interface, but I feel a user should have the option to choose what stays on the screen or disable it totally.

115

I think it's good to have transitional they just need the right ones up at the right time. Or maybe just able to minimize. Would be good if say for chat you could mouse over the area to make it appear and if you wanted it to stay you could lock it in place. Or maybe it just fades, so you can still vaguely see it but when you mouse over you can see it properly.

126

As I take this, I wonder if immersion is being taken to mean 'good' for example social aspects of games rarely immerse me in the game world, because I use them to talk to people about other non-game related things, constantly. No-one speaks in character in social elements, and I prefer it that way, the social aspects are a strong draw, even though they are strongly not immersive.

127 UI clutter is a major issue in many modern games, however it is important that the players can still have all the information they need at the time. Number inflation leading to UI crowding has been one significant issue I've encountered.

128 Just invent no lag and you are on a winner ;D



65 SOURCE COUNTRIES

Value Count Percent % Australia 23 95.8% United States 1 4.2% Statistics Total Responses 24

SOURCE CITIES

Value Count Percent % Adelaide 2 8.7% Booyal 1 4.3% Brisbane 3 13% Burwood 1 4.3% Canberra 1 4.3% Columbia 1 4.3% Gold Coast 2 8.7% Hobart 2 8.7% Melbourne 1 4.3% Nambour 2 8.7% Nerang 2 8.7% Parkwood 2 8.7%



66 Value Count Percent % Surry Hills 1 4.3% Sydney 1 4.3% Toowoomba 1 4.3%

Immersive Behaviour of Transitory User Interfaces

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