Computers as Theatre

Brenda Laurel's Computers as Theatre revolutionized the field of human-computer interaction, offering ideas that inspired generations of interface and interaction designers-and continue to inspire them. Laurel's insight was that effective interface design, like effective drama, must engage the user directly in an experience involving both thought and emotion. Her practical conclusion was that a user's enjoyment must be a paramount design consideration, and this demands a deep awareness of dramatic theory and technique, both ancient and modern.

Now, two decades later, Laurel has revised and revamped her influential work, reflecting back on enormous change and personal experience and forward toward emerging technologies and ideas that will transform human-computer interaction yet again. Beginning with a clear analysis of classical drama theory, Laurel explores new territory through the lens of dramatic structure and purpose.  Computers as Theatre, Second Edition, is directed to a far wider audience, is written more simply and elegantly, is packed with new examples, and is replete with exciting and important new ideas. 

• This book
• Draws lessons from massively multiplayer online games and systems, social networks, and mobile devices with embedded sensors
• Integrates values-driven design as a key principle
• Integrates key ideas about virtual reality
• Covers new frontiers, including augmented reality, distributed and participatory sensing, interactive public installations and venues, and design for emergence

Once more, Brenda Laurel will help you see the connection between humans and computers as you never have before-and help you build interfaces and interactions that are pleasurably, joyously right!

Brenda Laurel has worked in interactive media since 1976 as a designer, researcher, writer and teacher. She currently serves as an affiliated faculty member in the games and playable media program at University of California, Santa Cruz. She served as professor and founding chair of the graduate program in design at California College of Arts from 2006 to 2012. She designed and chaired the graduate media design program at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena (2001-2006) and was a distinguished engineer at Sun Microsystems Labs (2005-2006). Based on her research in gender and technology at interval research, she co-founded Purple Moon in 1996 to create interactive media for girls. In 1990 she co-founded Telepresence Research, focusing on virtual reality and remote presence. Other employers have included Atari, Activision, and Apple. Her books include The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design (1990), Computers as Theatre, Second Edition (forthcoming 2013), Utopian Entrepreneur (2001), and Design Research: Methods and Perspectives (2004). She earned her BA from Depauw University and her MFA and PhD in theatre from The Ohio State University.

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