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Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

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Chapter 27 -- Virtualizing the Imagined: <strong>Underground</strong> River Games<br />

And not all fantasy games need even be games; they can be pewter miniatures.<br />

Why Do Such Games So Often Involve <strong>Underground</strong> <strong>Rivers</strong><br />

<strong>Underground</strong> rivers engage our senses.<br />

1. <strong>Underground</strong> rivers are visual.<br />

Given the dollars spent on virtual realities, the academics have followed the scent. "The<br />

Immersant Experience <strong>of</strong> Osmose and Ephémère," 15th International Conference on Artificial<br />

Reality and Telexistence (2005) by Harold Thwaites ranks virtual locational aspects by evoked<br />

emotion or physical sensation.<br />

39% Lights, Fireflies/Wonderment, Peace, Joy, Delight<br />

32% <strong>Underground</strong>/Scary, Unfamiliar, Spooky, Off Balance<br />

20% Tree, Forest, Pond/Awe, Curiosity, Exhilaration, Floating, Fantasy<br />

Which is to say that it works well to combine a subterranean location with moving water.<br />

Game designers could replace underground rivers with, say, pneumatic tubes or mini subways,<br />

but then we'd not have the virtual rafts and canoes. As we will note another subway connection<br />

in Chapter 81, East Side, West Side, All Around the Town, it's easier to believe in imaginary<br />

worlds having to real-world experiences.<br />

We turn to an example -- Osmose's threedimensional<br />

Cartesian grid in which the<br />

immersant emerges in a clearing where there's<br />

a pond into which one can descend into an<br />

oceanic abyss.<br />

This isn't Mario hopping down a shaft between<br />

Lego-like rectangles. Like Alice in Wonderland<br />

(Chapter 16, <strong>Underground</strong> <strong>Rivers</strong> in English<br />

Fiction), we are the ones descending..<br />

2. <strong>Underground</strong> rivers are audible -- or more truthfully worded, we imagine them to so be<br />

Portrayed sounds draw the reader into the experience. It is no surprise that in the popular<br />

ranking <strong>of</strong> video games, the audio track is almost as important as are the visual effects.<br />

It is Dark Castle's multimedia effects -- rudimentary by today's technology -- that evoked this<br />

reflection in the Georgia Tech Game Morphology Project.<br />

Amazing graphics and sound. This game was completely addictive and, for its time, totally<br />

immersive. The first time I saw it I couldn't believe the imagery -- like interacting with the<br />

images in book <strong>of</strong> fairytales or a theme park ride. I still remember the sound <strong>of</strong> the rushing<br />

underground river.<br />

From Wikia Gaming Spoilers and Hints,<br />

DRAFT 1122//66//22001122<br />

Uppddaatteess aatt hhttttpp::////www. .uunnm. .eedduu//~rrhheeggggeenn//UnnddeerrggrroouunnddRi ivveerrss. .hhttml l<br />

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