Our life and culture in most of the world is thoroughly interwoven with computer based media and digitally created content. Such content comes in the form of non-interactive audio visual such as CG in film but also as interactive content: games, media art and media enhanced public spaces. Physics and physical realities play an important part in the creation and presentation of these forms of media but are rarely seen as an important factor and are usually applied in such a way as to represent the underlying physical laws incompletely, modified ad-hoc or simply incorrectly.

For my PhD, I would like to explore the possibility that the perception of Physics and science in general is negatively impacted by the current state of such physics-law reproduction and use. The goal of this investigation would be to show and analyze this, find ways and methods for both scientists as well as content creators and artists to deal with physical realities and apply some of the findings to actual real-world implementations.

First, an investigation of physics-use in past and current game media would be necessary in order to summarize the situation. Through the reflection on various aspects of games and game-theory, but also broader principles found in audiovisual media such as the principles of drama and cultural implications, models would be developed for incorporating "true to reality" physics in interactive media. These models could then be presented to practicing scientists and the resultant survey, would help to define the direction of the practice. By focusing on direct feedback through interviews and open discussions on the Internet I hope to presen the idea that game processes can create knowledge and might aid in bridging the gap between the "ivory-tower" and a non-expert public. Perhaps even specific possibilities for the application of physical laws in interactive media can be newly formulated. I hope to also prove, that there is a particular need for such methods - ones which incorporate physical realities - in the science community at large. Therefore several applications of the models would be developed and documented.

This work is done as part of Z-Node : the Zurich Node of Plymouth University, in The Institute of Cultural Studies, Art and Design School, Zurich, Switzerland.