Websites:
http://lionhead.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAxoBTgytEQ
Fable II is a good example of navigation design with the user. The game plays with the use of simulated motion in order to create life-like interactions. They have motion such as object collisions and play with the use of gravity. It also uses information visualization so that the user has no need to compute movement, it puts you in the users shoes. I think the designer of this game came across the problem of creating realistic information visualizations. The designer had to ensure that the user felt more connected to the character rather than independent. They accomplish by using real-life motion cues that we experience in everyday life. For example, if your character is running through a city and bumps into another character, the two bounce back from eachother using life-like force physics. Also, on a more abstract level, decisions being made by the user will effect environment and game changes which work in a butterfly-like effect. The navigation in the abstract effect demonstrates another form of motion that is more emotional than physical.
Pandora Navigation:
www.pandora.com
This website show's navigation cleverly by having pop-out windows and a rolling screen of choices of music. I like how this website's motion is a key factor for the use by the user. I think the biggest obstacle for this designer was the ability to create a flowing and visually appealing way of playing and picking music. It reminds me of the old juke-boxes at the creamery's that would rotate CD's to pick from, I think this must of been their concept. The user in this case employs "agency", their actions create a specific result. It helps the user to visualize that they are actually effecting the movement of something while they navigate. In this case, they simulate a rolling pattern to evoke the feeling of turning or rotating.
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