Douglas Galbi
11-26-2003, 09:55 AM
An important difference between an Attari multiplayer game c. 1977 and multiplayer interaction across the internet is the sense of the other player. When you are playing with another player physically next to you, you have the full natural sense of that person -- sight, sound and voice (ugh! you idiot!), movement, smell, touch (a pat on the back), pain (a punch in the shoulder), etc. Sensory modes of interaction with other players in online games but who are not physically present next to you is much more limited.
It seems to me that the play between these two circumstances is going to be a very interesting aspect of game development. Mobile gaming devices like the PSP and N-Gage make it much easier for persons to be physically present to each other in a choosen physical location while playing in an online world. How will social interaction in virtual worlds incorporate both sensory circumstances?
I've done some work on how persons make sense in communication. See "Sense in Communication" at www.galbithink.org, esp. Section V.
It seems to me that the play between these two circumstances is going to be a very interesting aspect of game development. Mobile gaming devices like the PSP and N-Gage make it much easier for persons to be physically present to each other in a choosen physical location while playing in an online world. How will social interaction in virtual worlds incorporate both sensory circumstances?
I've done some work on how persons make sense in communication. See "Sense in Communication" at www.galbithink.org, esp. Section V.