The reading that was assigned began with a a short introduction about the first video game, Spacewar. What the author had pointed out was that even though Spacewar was the first computer game created, it was natural for other programmers or the pioneer computer scientists to to create. What Spacewar had provided was a bridge between human interaction with machines and a display/feedback to the users. This, to my understanding, is when interface had become a focus of many designers and is what also comes to mind when the common man thinks of computers, "represent action in which humans could participate" (Laurel 1).
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| Spacewar |
The comparison that Laurel makes using theater and psychology was a little unusual at first, but also shed some light on why interface is the way it is. While psychologies is meant to explain and understand human behavior, theater acts as a representation of a real life situation and has many acting agents, both animate and inanimate, helping the viewer understand what is meant to be portrayed. The word representation is used a lot when discussing interface, and it holds significance in both psychology and theater.
All action in both an interface and theater are confined to what takes place inside their sandbox. Anything that happens outside of theater means nothing the performance, and the same goes for anything displayed by a computer. Whatever is displayed on stage or on screen is limited by its own box. Whenever designing a program, whether it be source library or a interactive graphical design, I have to design capabilities that only apply to the overall concern of the user. Anything outside of that is just bulk weight and unnecessary. This requires many programmers to stay on track when programming or designing software or art. The focus on the "big picture," or what the program is meant to do is the primary task of all computer scientists. It applies to different subjects like art music, and allows us stay organized in our work.
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