The Elevator as Threshold Object
Ben Zotto bzotto@mit.edu
After giving some thought to possibilities for threshold objects, I came upon that of the elevator, humble servant of those wishing to travel between floors in buildings.
Examples
One computer game that used it effectively was Viacom NewMedia's MTV Club Dead of several years ago. Unfortunately, the game was an abysmal failure, so I have not been able to locate any images of said elevator. However, one thing which was sucessful in it was its use of the elevator inside its virtual resort/hotel as a means of traveling within the game world; each floor represented either living quarters, a bar, entertainment facilities, etc. It was a simplistic setting structure, but this reinforced the ability of the player to relate to the elevator as a navigation device.
While looking for some small elevator photo to illustrate this assignment, I actually came across a web page which used an elevator as a navigational tool through its contents. While not showing the actual enclosure but instead the button panel, it still creates the feeling of navigation through a space, which is far more immersive than a simple list of contents of the site.
Why is the elevator a good threshold object?
- The above two examples illustrate an elevator's ability to create virtual space. If we are told that a structure has 10 floors, we can guage perhaps the size of the environment. Even if only two of these ten "floors" are accessible, we still feel the existance of the other closed-off areas, and are thus further immersed into the environment. Conversely, as a designer, one can create space this way.
- The elevator is an intuitive device. Like, say, the bicycle of Diamond Park, we are already conditioned to use it without noticing its presence. Use of an elevator as a navigational object is non-intrusive, so it does not distract from immersion in an environment.
- An elevator provides a comforting point of reference in an unfamiliar situation. The homogeneity of the construct is a way to provide a feeling of security for the interactor (they can always return to the "ground floor"). Like Harold's moon (in Harold and the Purple Crayon), the elevator can be the constant object and eventual way out.
- Finally, an elevator creates boundaries for the virtual world by showing available areas, and allowing interction through selection of floors. This restricts an environment so an interactor does not need to be confused about its size.
The elevator, humble every day thing that it is, is able to rest on the threshold between this world and a virtual one, allowing navigation, defining space (and rules of interaction), and providing a constant reassurance of location.
3 March 1998