MAKING VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS COMPELLING.

The very idea of a virtual environment (VE) is compelling--being able to go places and do and experience things you couldn't or wouldn't in the real world. The wow factor certainly makes people's initial experience with the technology exciting, along with the fact that most people who have experienced VE's have done so in entertainment venues carefully designed to be engaging and fun. It is the user's immersion in the sights and sounds of the virtual world that sets VE applications apart from their conventional counterparts. However, despite VE- system limitations, compelling and successful VE applications do exist. Some are very compelling because of their realism. Other VE's, while not compelling in the sense of personally gripping, are impressive simply because the application wouldn't exist without VE. A compelling VE application depends on a VE system being able to provide high-quality sensory immersion, a well-designed application, and a motivated user. INSET: PRESENCE..