Ambiguity in Utopian XR-Games. Basic Principles for the Design of Virtual Worlds
This provides game designers with foundational principles for creating ambiguous utopian experiences, though it is incremental in building on existing media theory.
The paper tackles the problem of designing ambiguity in virtual worlds for XR-games by identifying principles such as discontinuity and decontextualization, and demonstrates their application through six computer-generated illustrations.
Utopian images in XR-games are often ambiguous. How can ambiguity be consciously designed in virtual worlds? What are the design principles for game designers? Ambiguity arises from discontinuity and decontextualization, from the deliberate omission of facts, and from the skillful superimposition of contradictory codes. An ontology of interactive media explains the elusive visual poetry and image perception. The five basic elements of media are presented. The model shows the key correlations of user, content, and technology in image perception. An overview of utopian representation as a cross-media phenomenon places game design in an interdisciplinary context. Six selected computer-generated illustrations show how the above design criteria can be successfully applied to the design of virtual worlds. The ambiguous utopia of an image exists only in a brief, irretrievable moment of our own perception. But this moment is valuable for designing real visions for a better future.