Are visually appealing simulation models preferable?

Abstract

In the early days of computer simulation, models were mostly developed in Fortran, and there was no graphical animation. Due mainly to increasing graphical capabilities of operational systems, simulation was integrated with animation, setting a new standard in simulation software. The objective of this article is to explore this issue, first making a literature review and then trying to answer the question depicted in the title. It first demonstrates a methodology to evaluate whether a simulation model can be considered attractive; then, in a practical study, we try to correlate this attractiveness factor to the model's preference. The conclusions were very promising, showing that attractiveness is one factor that does interfere in model's preference. © 2015 IEEE.