MUVE’s

Multi-User Virtual Environments

Virtual Worlds

• Gary Howes – 2008 Virtual World Tour• Machinimas = Video Capture of Virtual World

Three-D Internet

• Virtual Worlds and the Transformation of the Web to 3D - Day, Dong and DeCoste

• http://aisel.aisnet.org/mg2009/3/

The Metaverse

• Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson (1992)

Two Successful MUVE’s

• IMVU• Second Life

IMVU

• http://www.imvu.com/?fd

Second Life

• Currency – Linden Dollars• Metrics -

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Featured-News/Q1-2011-Linden-Dollar-Economy-Metrics-Up-Users-and-Usage/ba-p/856693

• Extensive Player Created Economy– https://marketplace.secondlife.com/

• Protection of Intellectual Privacy

Pacific and Second Life

• New Media Consortium• Reconstrtuction of the Rose Garden

ImmersionSpecial Affordance of Virtual Worlds

• Feeling of really being in the virtual space and engrossed in what is happening

• Possible reasons for failure– Hardware– Steep learning curve– Lack of Experience on Avatars– Discomfort – creeped out, offensive content

Second Life andCommunication Courses

• Sarachan, Burke, Day and Trevitt-Smith – Avatars Talking: The Use of Second Life with Communication Courses, Journal of Interactive Learning Research (In Press)– Distance Learning– Simulations– Building

OpenSimulator

• Reverse Engineered Second Life Clone• Can be run alone on a server• Networks– You pay– You connect your own– OpenSim, Avination, etc

• No voice, no extensive economy of goods

UC Davis in Second Life

• Professor Yellowlees– http://allvirtual.me/2009/04/08/how-a-uc-davis-p

rofessor-leverages-second-life-for-research/• Informatics Project on Davis Island

Ruth

My Second Life

• Terraforming• Building– Prim building

• Prim objects linked, textures place on surface, scripting language LSL (Linden Scripting Language)

– Sculpties– Mesh

• Voice• Streams Audio and Video• Renting Land to Educators

Zegna

• iPad App– Virtual World Stores