There are also pointers that tell you where you will go if you click on them.
2. Non-text-based information can be found in the form of icons at the bottom of the screen, which provide access to Home (a house), Map (a globe), Events (a party hat), and Appearance (a pair of sunglasses). The map itself is also a form of non-text-based information. Any area on the map can be accessed by clicking on it. Other such information can be found at the top of the screen, when images of dollar bills and coins with numbers next to them tell you how much money you have accumulated.
3. The colors and characters in this world are very simply designed, and create a high-contrast, cartoon effect. The motion of the characters can be awkward -- I could point the arrow and float around the music store, but I found it difficult to exit when I wanted to. The rooms are depicted from an elevated, "bird's-eye" view, rather than an eye-level view, which makes it less realistic but allows one to see all of the room at once.
4. When I first started, a character calling herself "Clara" gave me a free houseplant with which to decorate my apartment. Then I was taken to the work area and encouraged to start working so that I could earn money. The proliferation of virtual consumer goods sold in the world provide incentives to earn money so that the avatar can decorate a living space, buy different outfits, etc.
5. The ability to enter and leave different virtual environments at will, earn money, buy things, and interact with other avatars contribute to the immersiveness of the virtual world. Stylistic features, such as the non-realistic rendering and the elevated view, detract from this immersiveness.
6.

No comments:
Post a Comment