ABSTRACT

There is now some research under way that should lead to useful guidance on the whole VE development process; accounts exist which cover some of the development cycle (e.g., Grinstein & Southard, 1995; Green & Sun, 1995; Loftin, Bartasis, & Johnston, in press). Guidance on design for VE usability has been published, for instance from groups at City University in London (e.g., Kaur, 1998; Kaur Deol, Sutcliffe, & Maiden, 1999), at Virginia Polytechnic (e.g., Gabbard, Hix, & Swan, 1999; Hix et al., 1999; chap. 34, this volume) and chap. 46, this volume, at University of Nottingham (e.g., Neale, 2001; Tromp, 2001; Tromp & Fraser, 1998; Tromp et al., 1998a). Notwithstanding the somewhat anarchic nature of the PC

games software industry, and especially the unstructured nature of their development alluded to above, there are moves to better understand best practice in games development. Game Developer Magazine, and especially its online archive at www.gamasutra.com, is a useful source of contributions. These are mostly at the level of general principles but do have content of relevance to VE development, to do with overall style, characters, levels of environment, menus and other interface elements, use of sound, animation, and the artwork.