I am about 2/3rds through a very interesting new book from the Berkeley Public Library: “Sensation, the New Science of Physical Intelligence” by Thalma Lobel, Atria Books, 2014. I wanted to recommend it. It is not about game design, but the information is certainly pertinent.
It is an easy read and a quick summary of the basics in this field. The chapter topics involve various ways in which our senses seem to be wired to emotional responses or cognitive judgements.
Chapter titles will give a taste:
- Wanna Grab a Drink? How Temperature Affects Us
- Smooth Operators and Rough Customers: Texture
- Don’t Take This Lightly: The Importance of Weight
- Slow Down, Red ahead: Red and Performance
- The Lady in Red: Red and Sexual Attraction
- In Contrast: Separating the Light from Darkness
- Space, the Mental Frontier: Physical and Psychological Distance
8 ) High and Mighty: Vertical Position, Size, and Power - Out, Damned Spot: Guilt, Morality, and Cleaning
- Sweet Smell of Success: Taste and Smell
- Turning on Lights Outside the Box: Embodying Metaphors.
Clearly, some of this is more visual than other aspects, but almost any of the above can be evoked via illustration if not directly in the geometrical composition. Even music (not discussed in this book) could contribute in this indirect fashion–for example, temperature (“hot” vs “cool” jazz).
Some of this will be obvious, but the book has also opened my eyes to strategies I know I have been subliminally manipulated by in the past.