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A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its
users to inhabit and interact via avatars. This habitation usually is
represented in the form of two or three-dimensional graphical representations of
humanoids (or other graphical or text-based avatars). Some, but not all, virtual
worlds allow for multiple users.
The world being computer-simulated typically appears similar to the real world,
with real world rules such as gravity, topography, locomotion, real-time
actions, and communication. Communication has, until recently, been in the form
of text, but now real-time voice communication using VOIP is available. This
type of virtual world is now most common in massively multiplayer online games
(Active Worlds, ViOS, There, Second Life--although not games, per se, but more
like virtual environments that can include gaming--Entropia Universe, The Sims
Online, Red Light Center, Kaneva, Weblo), particularly massively multiplayer
online role-playing games such as EverQuest, Ultima Online, Lineage, World of
Warcraft, or Guild Wars.
History
The earliest virtual worlds were not games but generic virtual reality
simulators. The first virtual worlds presented on the Internet were communities
and chat rooms, some of which evolved into MUDs and MUSHes. They attempted to
create sets of avatars for virtual interaction. Community virtual worlds allowed
access to the environment and encouraged creating buildings, art, and structures
(and many did not include avatars).
Some early prototyptes were WorldsAway, a prototype interactive communities
featuring a virtual world by CompuServe called Dreamscape, Cityspace, an
educational networking and 3D computer graphics project for children, and The
Palace, a 2-dimensional community driven virtual world. However, credit for the
first online virtual world usually goes to Habitat, developed in 1987 by
LucasFilm Games for the Commodore 64 computer, and running on the Quantum Link
service (the precursor to America Online).
In 1996, the city of Helsinki, Finland with Helsinki Telephone Company (since
Elisa Group) launched what was called the first online virtual 3D depiction
intended to map an entire city. The Virtual Helsinki project was eventually
renamed Helsinki Arena 2000 project and parts of the city in modern and
historical context were rendered in 3D.
A later virtual world devoted to the education of children was launched as
Whyville.net by Numedeon inc. in 1999. Site design included many features that
are now common to other virtual worlds, including user-customizable avatars, an
"in world" economy, and 'bubble chat". In addition, the site includes
educational games and simulations.
The virtual world concepts
One perception of virtual worlds requires an online persistent world, active and
available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, to qualify as a true virtual
world. Although this is possible with smaller virtual worlds, especially those
that are not actually online, no massively multiplayer game runs all day, every
day. All the online games listed above include downtime for maintenance that is
not included as time passing in the virtual world. While the interaction with
other participants is done in real-time, time consistency is not always
maintained in online virtual worlds. For example, EverQuest time passes faster
than real-time despite using the same calendar and time units to present game
time.
As virtual world is a fairly vague and inclusive term, the above can generally
be divided along a spectrum ranging from:
massively multiplayer online role-playing games or MMORPGs where the user
playing a specific character is a main feature of the game
massively multiplayer online real-life/rogue-like games or MMORLGs, the user can
edit and alter their avatar at will, allowing them to play a more dynamic role,
or multiple roles.
Some would argue the the MMO versions of RTS and FPS games are also virtual
worlds if the world editors, such as GtkRadiant allow for open editing of the
terrains if the "source file" for the terrain is shared. Emerging concepts
include basing the terrain of such games on real satellite photos, such as those
available through the Google Maps API or through a simple virtual geocaching of
"easter eggs" on WikiMapia or similar mashups, where permitted.
Single-player games
Many of these allow you to save the current state of this world instance to
allow stopping and restarting the virtual world at a later date. (This can be
done with some multiplayer environments as well.)
The virtual worlds found in video games are often split into discrete levels.
In the classroom
In principle, virtual worlds represent a powerful new media for instruction and
education. Persistence allows for continuing and growing social interactions,
which themselves can serve as a basis for collaborative education. Virtual world
platforms can also provide a foundation for serious games, intended to instruct
and illuminate. Some virtual world platforms also provide support for simulation
based instruction, increasingly recognized as a powerful new computer enabled
approach to learning. Finally, virtual worlds can provide new methods for
learning evaluation and teacher professional development, including embedded
assessment and teacher training linked directly to student performance.
A growing number of educational institutions are exploring existing general
purpose virtual world platforms as a means to extend and enhance their offerings
to students. Typically, educators create an online presence where students can
interact, using their avatars to learn about new assignments or create projects
that are viewable within the virtual world. For example, students taking a
computer manufacturing class can log into a virtual world in which they are the
inhabitants of a burgeoning village that needs their expertise for the
construction of houses, furniture, machines, and other goods. An example of such
a program is AWEDU, a project started by Active Worlds, Inc. A number of
educational institutions are now running virutal classrooms and discussion
sections in worlds like Second Life.
In fiction
The concept of a virtual world has become a popular fictional motif and setting
in recent years, although science-fiction writers have been portraying similar
ideas (for example, cyberspace) for decades. Among the most prominent virtual
worlds in the literature is the ones written about by William Gibson. Virtual
worlds were prominent in such movies and books as TRON, Neuromancer, The
Lawnmower Man, The Lawnmower Man 2, Epic, Snow Crash, and Ghost in the Shell.
There are many other examples of the virtual world; for example Lyoko in the
French animated television series Code Lyoko.
A popular example of a virtual world in fiction is from the movie series The
Matrix, a virtual reality so realistic that the great majority of those humans
plugged in think they are living in the real world and do not know that they are
living in a virtual world.
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