Across my research and adventures in immersivity, I’ve accumulated (and will continue to do so) a library of suggested books for anyone interested in creating for realitative platforms. Take a look! The list will keep expanding as I find and remember more, and I’ll source free material when I can.
Books and Blogs:
Aesthetic of Play by Brian Upton
Persuasive Games by Ian Bogost
Experience on Demand by Jeremy Bailenson
The Art of Immersion by Frank Rose
Dawn of a New Everything by Jaron Lanier
The Visual Story by Bruce Block
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Experiencing Architecture by Steen Eiler Rasmussen
The Punchdrunk Encyclopaedia by Josephine Machon
Homo Ludens (Free PDF) by Johan Huizinga (although a quicker alternative is the summary by Hector Rodriguez)
The Theater and its Double (Free PDF) by Antonin Artaud
Confessions of an ACA Fan (blog series) by Henry Jenkins
On Immersive Theater (short series that also covers the senses) by Mikhael Tara
Facebook Research Blog AR/VR - Various Contributors (Link)
iHobo Blog and Various Books by Chris Bateman (iHobo link)
Invisible Walls Feature Article by Luca Breda (Link)
Standard Patterns in Choice-Based Games by Sam Kabo Ashwell / These Heterogenous Tasks (Link)
A Bestiary of Player Agency by Sam Kabo Ashwell / These Heterogenous Tasks (Link)
The Immersive Worlds Handbook: Designing Theme Parks and Consumer Spaces by Scott Lukas
Designing Game Controls by Andrew Dotsenko (Link)
The Storyteller’s Guide to the Virtual Reality Audience by Stanford’s d.school Media Experiments (Link)
White Papers:
Spatial Computing by Simon Greenwold (PDF)
The Proteus Effect by Nick Yee & Jeremy Bailenson (PDF)
Staged Empathy: Empathy and Visual Perception in [VR] Systems by Elisabeth Ainsley Sutherland (PDF)
Experiening Nature: Embodying Animals in Immersive Virtual Environments Increases Inclusion of Nature in Self and Involvement with Nature by Sun Joo (Grace) Ann, Joshua Bostick, Elise Ogle, Kristine L. Nowak, Kara T. McGillicuddy, & Jeremy Bailenson (PDF)
The Expression of Personality in Virtual Worlds by Nick Yees, Helen Harris, Maria Jabon, & Jeremy Bailenson (PDF)
Game Design as Narrative Architecture by Henry Jenkins (PDF)
MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research by Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek (PDF)
A Taxonomy of Mixed Reality Displays by Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino (PDF)
Immersive Virtual Reality Technology by Biocca, F., & Delaney, B. (1995). Communication in the age of virtual reality (PDF)
Beyond the HUD: User Interfaces for Increased Player Immersion in FPS Games by Erik Fagerholt & Magnus Lorentzon (PDF)
Graphics:
Attributes of AR by Intel (Link)
VR Locomotion Vault by Microsoft (Link)
Podcasts:
Voices of VR by Kent Bye (Link)
No Proscenium Podcast by Noah Nelson (Link)
The AIAS Game Maker’s Notebook by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (Link)
Videos:
What's in a Game?: A Discussion of Gameplay and Narrative by TotalBiscuit/John Peter Bain (Link)
Lecture 11: Visual Attention and Consciousness by the Allen Institute’s Dr. Christof Koch (Link)
XR Design Theory and Practice for Digital Eyewear by Mike Alger (Link)
Talks:
Aarf! Arf Arf Arf: Talking to the Player with Barks by Patrick Redding (GDC Vault 2009, Link)
Do, Don’t Show (Narrative Design of Far Cry 2) by Patrick Redding (GDC Vault 2009, Link)
Read Me: Closing the Readability Gap in Immersive Games by Patrick Redding (GDC Vault 2009, Link)
Tools and Tips:
Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language by Amanda Patterson (Link)
Easy Way to Make 360 VR Designs (in Photoshop) by Volodymyr Kurbatov (Link)
Templates for AR/VR Sketches by Volodymyr Kurbatov (Link)