Designing Virtual Worlds

Designing Virtual Worlds
Author: Richard A. Bartle
Publisher: New Riders
Total Pages: 768
Release: 2004
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 9780131018167

This text provides a comprehensive treatment of virtual world design from one of its pioneers. It covers everything from MUDs to MOOs to MMORPGs, from text-based to graphical VWs.

Researching Virtual Worlds

Researching Virtual Worlds
Author: Louise Phillips
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2013-09-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136250514

This volume presents a wide range of methodological strategies that are designed to take into account the complex, emergent, and continually shifting character of virtual worlds. It interrogates how virtual worlds emerge as objects of study through the development and application of various methodological strategies. Virtual worlds are not considered objects that exist as entities with fixed attributes independent of our continuous engagement with them and interpretation of them. Instead, they are conceived of as complex ensembles of technology, humans, symbols, discourses, and economic structures, ensembles that emerge in ongoing practices and specific situations. A broad spectrum of perspectives and methodologies is presented: Actor-Network-Theory and post-Actor-Network-Theory, performativity theory, ethnography, discourse analysis, Sense-Making Methodology, visual ethnography, multi-sited ethnography, and Social Network Analysis.

Designing Adaptive Virtual Worlds

Designing Adaptive Virtual Worlds
Author: Ning Gu
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2014-09-18
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 3110399210

Designing adaptive virtual worlds takes the design of places for education, entertainment, online communities, business, and cultural activities in 3D virtual worlds to a new level. The place metaphor provides a rich source of styles and examples for designing in 3D virtual worlds. This book is one of the first design books in the field showing how those styles can be captured in a design grammar so that unique places can be created through computational agents responding to the changing needs of the people in the virtual world. Applying the techniques introduced in this book has immediate implications on the design of games and functional places in existing virtual world platforms such as Second Life, OpenSim and Active Worlds as well as future virtual worlds in which the boundaries between digital and physical environments blur.

The Law of Virtual Worlds and Internet Social Networks

The Law of Virtual Worlds and Internet Social Networks
Author: Andrew Sparrow
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2016-03-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 131702611X

Virtual worlds are the latest manifestation of the internet's inexorable appetite for development. Organisations of all kinds are enthusiastically pursuing the commercial opportunities offered by the growth of this phenomenon. But if you believe that there are no laws which govern internet social networks and virtual worlds this book will persuade you otherwise. There is law, and a good deal of it. Why would there not be? As with many other aspects of the world wide web, this new medium is unregulated and offers many opportunities for companies to damage their reputation, run into a whole host of problems relating to intellectual property, trade marks and copyrights, and compromise the rights of individuals participating within the virtual environment. By reading The Law of Virtual Worlds and Internet Social Networks you will gain a good understanding of the legal issues which govern this expanding and fascinating world - are you ready for the leap from internet plaything to meaningful social and business tool? The Law of Virtual Worlds and Internet Social Networks is an essential reference for advertising and media agencies; television broadcast producers; academic institutions including university law, knowledge and information departments. In fact, it has been written for anyone interested in virtual worlds and social networks whether commercially because you want to explore the possibilities such environments present, or for academic curiosity.

Design for Learning in Virtual Worlds

Design for Learning in Virtual Worlds
Author: Brian C. Nelson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2012-05-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1136863036

Design for Learning in Virtual Worlds, the first book focused specifically on how to design virtual worlds for educational purposes, explores: • the history and evolution of virtual worlds • the theories behind the use of virtual worlds for learning • the design of curricula in virtual worlds • design guidelines for elements experienced in virtual worlds that support learning • design guidelines for learning quests and activities in virtual worlds. The authors also examine the theories and associated design principles used to create embedded assessments in virtual worlds. Finally, a framework and methodology is provided to assist professionals in evaluating "off-the-shelf" virtual worlds for use in educational and training settings. Design for Learning in Virtual Worlds will be invaluable both as a professional resource and as a textbook for courses within Educational Technology, Learning Sciences, and Library Media programs that focus on gaming or online learning environments.

Flash Multiplayer Virtual Worlds

Flash Multiplayer Virtual Worlds
Author: Makzan
Publisher: Packt Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 599
Release: 2010-08-16
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1849690375

Build immersive, full-featured interactive worlds for games, online communities, and more.

Emerging Ethical Issues of Life in Virtual Worlds

Emerging Ethical Issues of Life in Virtual Worlds
Author: Charles Wankel
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1607523795

Virtual Worlds are being increasingly used in business and education. With each day more people are venturing into computer generated online persistent worlds such as Second Life for increasingly diverse reasons such as commerce, education, research, and entertainment. This book explores the emerging ethical issues associated with these novel environments for human interaction and cutting-edge approaches to these new ethical problems. This volume’s goal is to put forward a number of these virtual world ethical issues of which research is only commencing. The developing literature specifically regarding virtual world ethics is a recent phenomenon. Research based on the phenomenon of virtual world life has only been developing in the past four years. This volume introduces pathbreaking work in a field which is only just beginning to take shape. It is ideal as both as a library reference and a supplementary text in upper-division courses focused on the issues of applied ethics and new media. It is unique in being one of the first volumes specifically addressed to ethical problems of the “metaverse”. This volume includes articles from authors from around the world exploring topics such as: employing rationalist and casuistic approaches to the controversial topic of “virtual rape” yield an increased understanding of how virtual worlds ought to be designed, the relationship between the ethical and legal dimensions of virtual world users’ participation in “paratexts”, utilitarian consideration of harm and freedom in the case of virtual pedophilia, norms of research ethics in virtual worlds, the ethical implications of employing virtual worlds as tools for medical education and experimenting with healthcare services, the ethics of the collective action of virtual world communities, consideration of the virtue and potential of cosmopolitanism in virtual worlds, Deleuzian ethical approaches to the experience of the disabled in virtual worlds, the ethics of virtual world design, and the ethical implications of the “illusion of reality” presented by virtual worlds.

Researching Learning in Virtual Worlds

Researching Learning in Virtual Worlds
Author: Anna Peachey
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2010-02-05
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 184996047X

Most of the chapters in this book are extended papers from Research Learning in Virtual Environments (reLIVE08), an international conference held by the UK Open University in Milton Keynes in November 2008. Authors of the best papers and presentations from the conferences were invited to contribute to Research Learning in Virtual Worlds, the first book to specifically address research methods and related issues for education in virtual worlds. The book covers a range of research undertaken in virtual worlds. It opens with an accessible introduction both to the book and to the subject area, making it an ideal springboard for those who are new to research in this area. The subsequent ten chapters present work covering a range of research methodologies across a broad discipline base, providing essential reading for advanced undergraduate or postgraduate researchers working in education in virtual worlds, and engaging background material for researchers in similar and related disciplines.

Immersive Environments, Augmented Realities, and Virtual Worlds: Assessing Future Trends in Education

Immersive Environments, Augmented Realities, and Virtual Worlds: Assessing Future Trends in Education
Author: D’Agustino, Steven
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2012-12-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1466627018

Technology has had direct impact on education in increasing the way that society continues to learn. Applications of immersive environments, virtual worlds, and augmented reality have significant implications for how teaching and learning are achieved in contemporary education. Immersive Environments, Augmented Realities and Virtual Worlds: Assessing Future Trends in Education brings together current research and performance in trends in education. While examining cyber behavior and the use of virtual worlds, immersive technologies and augmented realities aim to improve teaching and enhancing learning.