User:Grrrreat/notes/draft

Many computer games, especially ego shooters in which the player is supposed to take the perspective of the avatar, use different types of interfaces and interface effects to create an immersive atmosphere. Some of these interface elements are obvious and seem rather unreal, even in the gaming world, such as crosshairs and radar overlays. Others are more sublime and seem to be simulations of real phenomena such as rapid shutter speeds, lensflares and explosions in space. These cannot be perceived by humans (lensflares) or are physically impossible (firy explosions in space). In contrast other interface elements like crosshairs, HUDs (heads up displays) and laser target markers are already widely used in the real world from the newest civil technology to the control interfaces of war drones. The 'realistic' effects are actually taken from semantic realms that we associate with the themes of the games, such as representations of war, space or medieval knights and castles in other media.

By analyzing examples from these opposing positions, game interfaces and effects and their real counterparts, the project will investigate the semantic realms these phenomena occupy and how we change 'avatars' (our perspectives) to adapt to them. This analysis should also encompass techniques in the traditions of painting ( the pathos formula for example) as well as mainstream cinema and the content of design blogs on the internet.

In times in which visual output has proven to be the prevalent and most efficient form of communication it is necessary to engage in the topic of its vocabularies and how they shape our expectations towards the image. By focusing on the paradoxical states of phenomena in this field one may be able to gain a deeper insight in our actual motivations of accepting, expecting and producing certain visual vocabularies.