This is a post I made to the enCore mailing list way back in 2005.
What is interesting to me is that many of my comments seem to still apply. If anything they are more applicable now. Plus I know way more about how enCore works so it is actually feasible to do this myself.
So many projects so little time :-)
Thanks for reading.
KJ
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http://mirror.lardbucket.org/encore/0002.html
From: Kevin Jepson
Date: Wed Aug 17 2005 - 16:12:20 CDT
Good Afternoon Folks
Ok, here is one way I think we could easily change the interface to bring back some of the immersive qualities that we have been talking about.
Note: "easily" is relative, Daniel might not agree :)
The following is a crude cut and paste mock-up using my version 4 EnCore MOO.
You'll notice that it is pretty much a standard version 4 layout when set for horizontal.
This horizontal layout is important, IMHO, because it ties into the scrolling text structure, unlike the vertical one which forces the user to switch "back and forth". This layout does reduce the graphics space available for illustrations within the room description a bit without scrolling, though.
The list of users shown on the right hand side could also be a version of the "Who Frame" that Daniel has added to V5.
If a hidden frame was used for that a similar hidden frame could be used for the contents. While that would reduce the space for the description even more it would fix the layout. That way when moving, objects, people and exits could easily be updated and kept current without loosing them in the refresh or to the vagaries of the rooms decorations.
The "Exit Frame" lists the obvious exits of the room and makes them clickable. The key thing here is that the link is the DIRECTION of the exit. A user can also type that direction in the chat to move as well. The exit frame would update only when the user moves and could be updated by the look cmd.
I would also make sure that exit messages were turned back on so that the users would get feedback on their movements and those of others.
This isn't really a big change but I do think it would drastically change a users perception of the "space" in which they are "moving".
The toolbar at the top gives quick access to all the great tools and accessories that enCore has, and looks cool and professional as well. The ship graphic at the bottom (while being a bit of a nautical conceit on my part) could be a system block for messages like pages, channels etc. The reason I added that is that I find if the chat window is too wide it gets hard to read conversations before the screen scrolls.
So why do I think such a layout would improve the spatial perception of users?
When the user sees this layout they notice the same things Daniel pointed out in his real world example. The room itself, it's contents, it's people and it's exits.
The exits are important because they place the room in it's spatial context. Including the direction of the exit as well as it's destination locks the room into a mental map of where the user is relative to other places. For example the user knows that "The Widow's Walk" is probably up the "Spiral Staircase" from Max's study because the "Portal" is down. To exit the room one could go "Out" to the "Font Porch", which is logical, and the "Misty Stones" are probably somewhere out "back".
All of this is apparent as soon as the user reads the description and then logically keeps reading the contents list and users list and then the exits. This is how we treat a real room essentially.
A click on an object or person, or typing "look object" in chat, would replace the whole description frame AND the contents and who frames with the equivalent info of the object. We then still have the problem of getting back, but a quick "look" in chat would pop back the same as the look button on the toolbar does.
Using this layout I would suggest that documents and views of linked materials should be in a new browser window so that proper formatting could be maintained. That is how the client works now in telnet only mode.
The immersion is enhanced here because everything the user does is framed by the space. They are IN the space all the time not "beside it" or linked to it somehow. Their interactions are always in the context of the room, it's exits and contents. That is what you get by default in a text based moo and with this layout you get much richer content with a minimized disruption.
All IMHO of course :)
Comments and critiques welcome.
Ciao
KJ
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