Let the games Begin!

Rich media is a new phenomenon within society that is ever so slowly leaving the perceptually hedonistic realms of the gaming world, and beginning to take on a new commercial viability. The rich media that are coined by the terms of virtuality-( Jaron Lanier), augmented reality and telepresence are but a few of the exciting concepts behind the emerging multisensory super mediums. This blog will address the different aspects of the said terms and their positive and potentially negative aspects with association to the creation of online gambling within the mediums.

The definition of virtual reality is based on concepts of “presence” and “telepresence,” which refer to the sense of being in an environment, generated by natural or mediated means, respectively (Steuer, J. 1993). One such example of virtuality is the popular programmes second life and world of warcraft, in these online worlds end users experience the journey of their avatar, and online expression of themselves. These worlds exist in real time, and involve the convergence of numerous communication models- users are able to converse with other users through their avatars, and see and hear other avatars and the world they are surrounded by. This conglomeration of technologies which interacts with entire “human sensorium” (Brand, J 2009) this is why these media are referred to as rich media, media that immerses the user. “ In a virtual environment our senses, as vision, hearing, haptics, smell, etc., are controlled by a computer while our actions influence the produced stimuli” (Bimber O, Raskar R. 2005).

This quote highlights of all the aspects of the world which engage a higher order of psychological processing for the user, the user feels as though the world is operating in the “present”, because perceptively it is. This makes the boundaries between fantasy and reality blurred for users, the impacts of this later can show the negatives of this in reference specifically to the online gaming industry. The reason there are these impacts on users is because virtual reality can encompass numerous technologies at one time, as stated before. Physical tools such as data gloves, data suits, speech and eye recognition, coupled with simulation that is providing the user with immediately stimulating images that provide suspense and constantly challenge the mind, give the end user a sense of “telepresence”. Telepresence refers to the human experience within the virtual world, the vividness (breadth & Depth) plus interactivity (speed, range, mapping) of the technology affecting the users perceptions.

Another form of rich media is Augmented reality. “In Augmented Reality (AR) systems, real and virtual objects are merged and aligned in relation to a real environment, and presented in the field of view of a end user” (Nillson, S . et al 2009). Examples of augmented reality are present in movies, where goggles of a character bring up information about the surroundings they are viewing. Interestingly augmented reality has entered the commercial world already through an app on the ever innovative I-phone, example below shows the outcome:



Because of the rich hardware of the I-phone, situated simulation is able to converge numerous media- broadband with smart phone, substantial graphics capabilities and GPS positioning features to provide a unique service of rich media (G. Liestøl, 2009.). Whilst augmented reality combines technology to enhance viewing the real world it is far less immersive than virtuality. Virtuality essentially provides the user with a sense of presence and realism which results in the immersion, augmented reality adds to reality creating a new realism for the user.

Whilst there are many positives to these rich media, there are negative possibilities for users who become too immersed in the simulation and suffer from detrimental effects. Such effects include; simulation sickness, time use- more time in virtual world than real world. These effects can affect users emotions, jobs, long term memory processing and motivation in the real world, not to mention the negative physical effects such as weight gain or loss from unhealthy exercise habits.

Within the industry of online or virtual gambling the side effects increase in negativity and quantity. Users can suffer from the general negativities of becoming detached from the real world, and incur additionally, debt which can go unchecked by themselves and others. This of course depends on the types of gambling, virtual pokies and card games would certainly prove detrimental. Additionally those involved in providing the service, could also suffer similar end user effects, having their working environment online, decreasing the personal involvement in real life employment may prove detrimental to social skills. Communication of both sides is consistently virtual and comes with all the negative attributes that extended immersion in virtuality provides.


References
1. Brand, J. 2009. Media Richness & Immersion.

2. Jonathan Steuer , 1993. Dimensions Determining Telepresence, pg 1- 25.
3. Liestøl, G. 2009. Situated Simulations: A Prototyped Augmented Reality Genre for Learning on the iPhone Volume 3, Special Issue 1: "IMCL2009", July 2009

4. Nillson, Susanna. Et al 2009. Hands Free Interaction with Virtual Information in a Real Environment: Eye Gaze as an Interaction Tool in an Augmented Reality System. PsychNology Journal, 2009 Volume 7, Number 2, 175 – 196

5. Oliver Bimber, Ramesh Raskar. 2005. Spatial Augmented Reality Merging Real and Virtual Worlds. Pg 1- 10.