A Method for Designing Virtual Places

This paper discusses our experiences of using a range of methods and techniques to measure the sense of place in real and virtual environments. The paper presents a discussion on presence and how this is linked directly with our sense of place. From here we discuss the development of ‘The Place Probe’ a bundle of measurement techniques that allows for the direct comparison of real and virtual scenes. We show how the data gathered from the probe can be used to inform the design of virtual places. The whole approach is predicated on the premise that by understanding place
we can improve our sense of presence in virtual environments.