Concepts
Founded in 2016, Dreamscape Immersive (Dreamscape Immersive, n.d. – a) stands as a leader in location-based Virtual Reality (VR) entertainment. Their unique experiences merge cinematic storytelling, full-body motion tracking, and haptic feedback, offering a level of immersion that surpasses typical home VR setups. Examining Dreamscape's offerings provides insights into the potential, limitations, and evolving design principles within the emerging field of HI.
Embodied Immersion
Dreamscape's proprietary technology distinguishes itself through full-body tracking. Unlike many VR experiences, participants see a representation of their own bodies and those of their companions within the virtual environment. This shift from disembodied spectatorship to embodied participation is central to the HI concept. As media theorist, Janet Murray, notes in her seminal work ‘Hamlet on the Holodeck,’ embodied engagement fundamentally changes our relationship to a narrative world (Murray, 1997). Dreamscape takes a crucial step toward realising this vision.
Multi-Sensory Storytelling
Dreamscape experiences go beyond visuals, strategically incorporating elements that stimulate multiple senses:
· Spatialised Audio: Sound design plays a vital role in building atmosphere, directing attention, and enhancing the sense of spatial presence (Stockburger, 2003).
· Haptics: Tactile feedback through haptic vests and environmental effects (like wind or heat) provide physical sensations that reinforce the illusion of the virtual world as a tangible place.
· Environmental Interaction: Physical set pieces that correspond with virtual objects further dissolve the barrier between the real and the simulated. This aligns with the concept of 'tangible user interfaces' explored in VR research (Ishii & Ullmer, 1997).
Participant Agency
While Dreamscape's experiences are primarily narrative-driven, they offer varying levels of agency to participants, a key aspect of HI design:
· Exploration: Participants can freely explore the virtual environment within limits, fostering physical presence and discovery.
· Collaborative Interaction: Multi-participant experiences encourage teamwork and communication, creating a social dimension to the immersion.
· Limited Choices: Some experiences provide moments of light interactivity or branching paths, giving participants a limited but impactful influence on the narrative. This approach hints at the potential for choice-driven storytelling inherent in HI.
Case Study Example: ‘Alien Zoo’
In ‘Alien Zoo’, (Dreamscape Immersive, n.d. – b) participants journey to an intergalactic wildlife sanctuary. Key HI elements include:
· Embodiment as Avatars: Participants inhabit fantastical alien creatures, leaving behind familiar human forms (Bailenson, 2018).
· Sensory Immersion: The virtual environment is visually stunning, enhanced by ambient soundscapes and tactile effects that enhance believability.
· Social Play: Cooperation is key to solving puzzles and caring for the creatures, emphasising HI as a potentially shared social experience.
Considerations and Critical Perspectives
While Dreamscape illustrates the potential for ground-breaking experiences, there are limitations and a need for critical evaluation:
· Narrative vs. Agency: Dreamscape stories remain predominantly linear. Finding a balance between strong storytelling and true branching experiences with high participant agency is an ongoing challenge in HI design (Mateas & Stern, 2003).
· Technological Barriers: The reliance on full-body tracking and complex haptics make location-based experiences necessary, potentially limiting accessibility (Jerald, 2015).
· Evolving Design Language: Creating experiences that fully leverage participant agency within compelling narrative frameworks demands a new set of design principles and best practices that are still emerging.
The Future of Hyper Immersivity
Dreamscape Immersive demonstrates both the transformative potential and the challenges facing HI. Key takeaways include:
· The Power of Embodiment: Embodied presence significantly intensifies immersion and hints at the potential for deeply personal and impactful HI as technology further develops.
· Multi-Sensory Engagement: Designing for multiple senses enhances the sense of being physically transported into a new world, offering vast creative possibilities within HI frameworks.
· The Ongoing Agency Question: Achieving a meaningful balance between authored narratives and participant-driven experiences remains a key frontier for HI creators.
Dreamscape's success signals a public appetite for profound immersive experiences. As technology advances, costs decrease, and HI design principles evolve, we are likely to see a new era of storytelling and artistic expression where the boundaries between creators and their audience become increasingly permeable.