Title: Creating a sense of place with a deliberately constrained virtual environment

Authors: Phil Turner; Susan Turner; Luke Burrows

Addresses: School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5DT, UK ' School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5DT, UK ' User Vision Edinburgh, 55 North Castle Street, Edinburgh EH2 3QA, UK

Abstract: This study explores the premise that a high degree of realism is not a necessary condition for a 'sense of place' in mediated experiences. We report on the usefulness of an intentionally low fidelity virtual environment which relies on the metaphor of the 'tourist gaze' and the power of imagination to create a sense of place. This application was a non-immersive representation of Edinburgh. In evaluation, participants reported experiencing a sense of place rather than a mere collection of images. We discuss the results in the light of weak and strong cognitive representation and indicate potential applications.

Keywords: virtual reality; virtual environments; sense of place; sense of presence; tourist gaze; mediated experiences; cognitive representations; constraints; low fidelity; power of imagination; non-immersive representation; Edinburgh.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCPS.2013.053554

International Journal of Cognitive Performance Support, 2013 Vol.1 No.1, pp.54 - 68

Received: 24 Oct 2010
Accepted: 02 Nov 2011
Published online: 18 Sep 2014 *