How is presence in non-immersive, non-realistic virtual environments possible?

Abstract

This paper argues that the concepts of immersion and realism in presence research can be reconceived respectively as the information load which a display presents about an environment, and the expectations which a user has for that environment. From this perspective, non-immersive, non-realistic environments can be conceived as having great possibilities for producing presence, as additional information about the environment can be displayed in iconic, non-diagetic or other non-realistic forms. This technique will not violate the users' expectations of what is possible in such an environment provided that those expectations about the environment as well as the users' degree of media literacy are taken into account.