A Methodology of Design for Virtual Environments

Abstract

This chapter undertakes a methodological study of virtual environments (VEs), a specific subset of interactive systems. It takes as a central theme the tension between the engineering and aesthetic notions of VE design. First of all method is defined in terms of underlying model, language, process model, and heuristics. The underlying model is characterized as an integration of Interaction Machines and Semiotics with the intention to make the design tension work to the designer’s benefit rather than trying to eliminate it. The language is then developed as a juxtaposition of UML and the integration of a range of semiotics-based theories. This leads to a discussion of a process model and the activities that comprise it. The intention throughout is not to build a particular VE design method, but to investigate the methodological concerns and constraints such a method should address.