Findings
Introduction
A virtual world is a cyber-space
inhabited by virtual communities. There are a few types of
virtual world which are 1D, 2D, 2.5D and 3D spaces ('D' in
stands for dimensions). In the past, these virtual worlds
are normally built with text or documents, which is 1D. Examples
of 1D spaces virtual world are chat rooms, bulletin board
system, and web worlds. Today, virtual worlds are becoming
more visible, and dramatic as 2D and 3D graphical landscapes
are fast spreading across the net. Examples of 2D and 3D virtual
world would be discuss later.
Virtual world could also be
divided into two categories, single-user worlds and multi-user
worlds. Single-user worlds are worlds where the contents of
these worlds are transferred to the user's own computer and
only the user can wonder around in this world. These kind
of worlds are mostly being used for the visualization of objects,
ranging from a car to a complete city. In the other hand,
the multiple-users world can be accessed by multiple users
at the same time anywhere in the world. Actions that the users
make need to be visible other users, which is done by shared
events. The events that occur in a multi-user world are distributed
to the computers of all the other users. This distribution
is done by a server which sends all shared events to all users'
local copy of the virtual world.
Nowadays, avatars are playing
an relatively important place in the virtual world. Avatars
are the name for a digital embodiment of a person in cyberspace.
They could talk and move humanly. Avatars and virtual worlds
working hand-in-hand could transform one's experience of visiting
the cyberspace from a screen interface into a real place.
Characteristics of Virtual Worlds
In order to start in the virtual world, it
must have an avatar. In 3D or virtual reality games and in
some chat forums on the Web, your avatar is the visual "handle"
or display appearance you use to represent yourself. On Worlds
Chat and similar sites, you can be a unicorn, a bluebird,
or any kind of creature or object that seems right. Besides
that, users are available to create an avatar of him/herself,
or to an animal looks. Avatars are able to walk around the
environment, and to talk to the other avatar, or to move,
to have some actions, allow to show their mood.
Metaphor is a figure of speech by the avatar.
It will show what is the avatar is talking about, and to let
everyone know their contents of communication, so, the other
avatars can join the chat.
Evolution of Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds's evolution
can be divided into 3 eras, text-based(1D) application, 2D-based
application, 3D-based application. There is also some in between
dimensional categories, such as 2.5D-based application. One
example of the in-between dimensional categories is WorldsAway
which is a 2.5D-based application. Further elaboration of
WorldsAway would be discuss later. Below is example of each
categories application:-
Text-based Application (1D-based Application)
IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
is a text-based communication forums, which consist hundreds
of channels. People in the forum communication with each other
in real time by typing short text messages to each other.
Communication could be done public to everyone who is sign
in the forum; or, privately, where communication is done only
to people who are selected to be in the chat room.
Dark Chambers is one of many
Multi Users Dungeons (MUDs) that have been entertaining the
Internet society for many years. It is a text-based role-playing
game functions which might not sounds so familiar with nowadays.
It involves around character development and team play, which
is largely based on the imagination of the player.
2D-based Application
Ultima On-Line is a network
based version of Ultima Role Playing game which allows thousands
of players to exist in the same fantasy game world over the
Internet. The players could interact with other participants
in real time to form adventuring parties, engaging with battles
with other players, taking up a quest in a group, and etc.
The Ultima's world is presented in a third person view with
the avatar of the person being the point of focus. There are
numerous computer controlled creatures and hundreds of other
objects in the world.
The Realm is a virtual world
and a on-line Role Playing Game (RPG) provided by Sierra On-line.
The world consist of thousands of playing rooms, which is
presented in third persons view. The user may explore the
locales of the world and chat with fellows Realmers all over
the world.
2.5D-based Application
WorldsAway is a in-between
dimensional application of 2D and 3D-based application. This
application is based on LucasArts' Project called Habitat.
The concept is fully modified by Fujitsu, and is currently
offering socializing possibilities for thousands of Internet
users. The users in the community could interact with each
other, and the virtual economy of the world. WorldsAway allows
the users to join group games and many other activities.
3D-based Application
Active Worlds is the first
3D environment in the Internet. It has a huge area of cityscapes
and 300,000 registered citizens and tourists. Interactions
between people in the Active Worlds is done through text chat.
Building new establishments are done by direct manipulation
of components and stacking them together like Lego.
Blaxxun interactive has already
opened doors to the VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language)
club in Cyberspace. The users could build their world and
avatars with VRML and connect it to the vast and expanding
labyrinth of Blaxxun's world. Communications between users
could be done through text chat or voice conferencing.
Virtual World Language
Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) is
a language for describing multi participant interactive simulation-virtual
world via the global internet and the hyperlink with World
Wide Web. It means that it is a language for describing 3-D
image sequences and possible user interactions to go with
them. Using VRML, we can build a sequence of visual images
into WEB settings with which a user can interact by viewing,
moving, rotating, and otherwise interacting with an apparently
3-D scene. For example, you can view a room and use controls
to move the room as you would experience it if you were walking
through it in real space.
History of VRML - connective,
collective, and corrective. Beside VRML, RWX is also one of
Virtual World Language. RWX - Renderware language is used
by Active Worlds
Example of Virtual World
Active World offers a comprehensive
platform for efficiently delivering real-time interactive
3D content over the web. Its 3D content is dynamic, visually
compelling and most importantly provides users a richer, more
exciting online experience.
Digital Space offers a wide
range of products and services that enable innovative ways
for individuals and groups to communicate and collaborate
on the Internet. Its 3D content allows NASA to plan for future
missions to Mars. Furthermore, its voice, text chat and instant
messaging solutions allow a wide range of organizations to
create "human presence" on their web sites.
Today, VR is poised to change
the way we interact with and control computers. Like the introduction
of computers more than 50 years ago, its impact are unknown.
Issues being raised are: Will there be VR in every house,
classroom, & office? Will immersing oneself in a computer-generated
world be as commonplace as watching a movie? The only thing
for sure is that VR will continuously grow and develop. As
the technology matures, it will become better, cheaper, more
accessible and everyone will tend to own it. The future of
VR is limited only by our imaginations.
History of Virtaul World
The evolution of virtual world
is similar to the evolution of virtual communities as we discuss
in Workshop 1, after all, it is still a part of the birth
of the Internet. Virtual communities find its technological
roots in the earliest text-based multi-user games such as
Space War. This continuing trend was the development of UseNET,
LISTSERVs, MUDs, MOOs, IRC and conferencing systems like the
WELL in the 1970s and 1980s, and in the 1990s the World Wide
Web (WWW) evolved from it. The merging of text-based chat
channels with a visual interface in which users were represented
as 'avatars' first occurred in Habitat in the mid 1980s. This
has reached an important milestone with the launch of the
3D Internet-based Worlds Chat in 1995.
Inhabited Virtual Worlds (IVWs)
and their communities was primarily drew from their roots
in MUDs and text-based real time chat systems and utilized
the power of existing 3D rendering engines developed for gaming
applications such as Doom and Quake. VRML has had very little
influence except as an occasional model interchange format
and is user in few IVWs with large user communities.IVWs do
not take advantage of the full immersion and special devices
of virtual reality systems but instead concentrate on running
effectively on a large range of consumer computing platforms
at modem speeds.
MUD
A MUD or Multi-User Dungeon is an inventively
structured social experience on the Internet, managed by a
computer program and often involving a loosely organized context
or theme. Some MUDs are ongoing adventure games; others are
educational in purpose; and others are simply social. Today,
many MUDs can be accessed through a Web site and some are
perhaps better known as "3-D worlds." MUD participants
adopt a character or avatar when they join or log in to a
MUD.
MOO
MOO is just a programming language in designing
the object. Everything is an object, which includes avatar.
The list below present the
brief history of Virtual World
1969: Rick Blomme writes a
two-player version of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's
renowned Space War for the Plato service.
December 1979: Roy Trubshaw
and Richard Bartle develop the first working multi-user dungeon
(MUD) at Essex University in Colchester.
1983: Kesmai launches MegaWars,
which closes in 1995.
1985: The first virtual reality
environments using avatars - virtual icons - begin to appear.
1995: Worlds Chat becomes
the first avatar environment on the Internet.
October 1996: Two Microsoft
interns, Andrew and Chris Kirmse, release Meridian 59, an
experimental virtual world. It quickly becomes a cult classic
and a dedicated community builds up around it. It finally
closes in August 2000. Unofficial versions of M59 continue
in Germany, South Korea and Russia.
Spring 1997: Electronic Arts
launches Ultima Online (OU), the first commercial virtual
world, a follow-up to its successful computer game similar
to the role-playing board game Dungeons and Dragons.
March 1999: Verant Interactive,
a subsidiary of Sony, launches EverQuest. It becomes the most
popular virtual world in the US.
Autumn 2000: Microsoft launches
Asheron's Call.
Winter 2001: Virtual worlds
such as Norway's Anarchy Online and Mythic Entertainment's
Dark Age of Camelot join the fray. Estimates put the number
of virtual worlds now at 18, with another 40 in development.
2002: Electronic Arts to launch
the Sims Online, Sony and Lucas Arts release Star Wars Galaxies:
perhaps the two most eagerly anticipated virtual worlds.
References
http://www.eng.kagawa-u.ac.jp/~tarumi/research/spacetag-e/virtual2.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/05/17/1021544063476.html
http://www.whatis.comhttp://www.infonortics.com/vc/1999/cothrel/tsld017.htm
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~views/aboutviews.html
http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitytypes.htm
http://pages.emerson.edu/students/kyle_obley/final/types.html
http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~kimble/teaching/mis/Communities_of_Practice.html
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409bs98/tabios/report1.html
http://www.eg.org/EG/DL/WS/SCA03/265-275-devillers.pdf
http://logic.csci.unt.edu/tarau/research/99/lm.html
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/VRML/
http://www.vrmlsite.com/
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