Computer games, like all fiction, engage people by suspending their disbelief. This window into another world, says Stuart Slater, Director of the Institute of Gaming and Animation, allows the user’s imagination to be put on hold whilst experiencing the game designer’s imagination instead, a novel experience that engages emotional and cognitive capabilities in unexpected situations.
Dr Slater’s research in this emerging field is wide-ranging; his particular interests are in the interaction between the virtual world, including Second Life, and its inhabitants and how they react to agents in that environment, and the the real world. As well as directing the Institute of Gaming and Animation, he also teaches games programming at the University of Wolverhampton to both students and to developers in several leading games companies.
Tags: animation, gaming, second life, stuart slater, University of Wolverhampton, virtual reality