Digital ergonomics: Understanding the bridges to the digital world

Abstract

The actual, hypermodern individual no longer focus his existence in the realm of the “sensible objects”. He lives in a constant existence dichotomy where physicality and virtuality live together to create new forms of humanity. Identity, space and time are blurred and the previous boundaries are questioned. The digital languages are a natural evolution of our society, silently changing the way we live and deal with each other and ourselves. The study of these subjects is essential to trace the cultural paths we are making as global community of gradually disconnected individuals. With these colligated existences, “bridges” between digital and “real” worlds are built in order to allow the “real” human beings to merge with digital realities. By this symbiosis between man and machine, humanity will see its capabilities gradually augmented, and new ways of existence will be found. To achieve this profound connection between worlds, an understanding of human factors is necessary in order to meet specific expectations of end users and to facilitate the immersion of individuals in the virtual environment. With this paper we intend to study video-games as a “bridge” between “virtuality” and “physicality”, and to identify the most reliable paths aiming for a seamless experience, regarding human factors and the users necessities and expectations, with a special attention to the use of character and fashion design as a way to achieve those goals.