Returning to topics within my own research, I would like to focus this week on an element of themed design that resonates with the readings in a particularly interesting way: performance. Scott A. Lukas, using Houston's now-defunct Six Flags Astroworld park as a case study, observes that social and performative presentations are critical considerations, operating alongside architecture, decoration and other fabricated elements to facilitate immersion in themed spaces. This is unsurprising, given that most American themed spaces are also service spaces, but it is interesting at the moment in that it highlights an aspect of immersive design that is not strictly tied to sensory stimulation.
Woletz provides some valuable historical insight, and while it is not necessary to repeat the entire chronology we can benefit from observing some of the larger trajectories and important moments. Most importantly, Woletz does not conceive of immersion as a direct consequence of accuracy of representation (higher image quality, for example). It is suggested instead that immersion is an embodied concept, and Woletz points to important developments made in moments during which outside stimuli are blocked and users are empowered to interact in some physical way with the environment being presented. This allows us to turn to the issue of interface, as Distelmeyer offers several useful observations concerning these "objects" and the relationships that they facilitate between users and systems. Of particular importance are the eternal desire for an interface that recedes as much as possible from the user's attention, specific approaches (such as GUI) that advertise their function to users without actually demonstrating the mechanisms through which these processes take place, and the eventual integration of the user into the behavioral regime desired by the system's designers.
These points are perhaps approaching an argument that is given some attention by MacCormick. Although pattern recognition is not necessarily a matter of great concern in itself, "intelligent" systems (or interfaces) are increasingly desirable in themed entertainment and at a moment when the industry is especially territorial designers are keen to find ways of integrating large groups of users with varying relationships to the intellectual property on which a given attraction is based. Returning to Lukas for a moment, we can now imagine how the previous observations support the hypothesis that human interaction is perhaps the central element in a themed space. Problematic though it may be, we can posit, for example, a costumed theme park employee as the most intelligent interface possible in such an environment. As an individual who is at least reasonably well-acquainted with the particular narrative environment of an attraction or park area, as well as being tasked with its safe and efficient operation, this person is in a position to orient visitors at the level of experience rather than infrastructure. Belonging (presumably) to the same species, an employee in such a role is expected to act "naturally" based on both the the requirements of the theme and the social conventions of visitors, adapting behaviors as circumstances dictate.
On that note, we will close with a few words on design. While much of the social design of a themed space is based on pre-existing conventions, there are several interesting strategies used by owners and operators to guide interactions. As Löwgren and Stolterman point out, it is critical to investigate the design process itself, as a variety of institutional, technological, social and financial forces are interacting at every stage of every process. One particular strategy, narrative, is worthy of mention here. While it is no surprise that most contemporary themed attractions are conceived of as articulations of a specific story (or story universe), most major brands (such as Universal and Disney) imagine park areas, entire parks, hotels and entertainment/retail districts based on the same paradigm. This is also somewhat expected, but what concerns us here is the ways in which employees and visitors navigate these distinct (though overlapping) conceptual spaces. Visiting such a destination is a vacation, but a vacation which intersects with a number of fantasy spaces which also provide real-life services. It is therefore necessary for participants to shift constantly between registers, and while the built environment plays a role, it is ultimately the human element that makes these shifts possible and "natural."
40 Design "Solutions"
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