A virtual
World is defined
as an interactive
Computer- based simulated environment,
which is accessed
by multiple users.
Virtual Worlds are
also referred to
as ‘’ digital
worlds ‘’, ‘’simulated worlds ‘’,
and ‘’ MMOG’s
‘’, which stands
for ‘’ Massively
Multiplayer Online Role Playing
Game’’. Although there are many
different types of
Virtual Worlds, they all share
similar features. In all Virtual words , multiple users
can participate at once,
interaction takes place
in real time, users
can customize content, In world
social groups are
usually formed, and
Virtual worlds depicts
space visually, usually
in 3D environments.
Virtual
Worlds can be
used for many different purposes. Some of
these uses include,
commercial gaming, educational
purposes, socializing / Online
community building, political
expression, and military
training. Commercial gaming worlds
focus on a
singular fictional theme
and consistently follow
formal conventions such
as character- focused
avatars, progression through
an interactive narrative
storyline, and a
series of competitive
events. Examples of commercial
gaming worlds are,
MPOGD.com, Gamespot, and Gamespy. Virtual worlds
created for educational
purposes, are sponsored
by academic institutions
or nonprofit organizations, and
also corporations. Educational
worlds include, 3D
recreations of museums,
computer programming tutorials,
virtual libraries, and
meeting spaces for
online University courses. Examples of
virtual education worlds
are, Active Worlds
Educational Universe, Adobe
Atmosphere, and Mokitown.
Virtual worlds for
political expression have
been built for
the purpose of
political debate or
even experiments in
various types of
self- governing online communities. An example
of virtual world
with a political
focus is Agoraxchange. Virtual worlds
for military training
is being used
by America’s Army
as a tool
to recruit potential
soldiers, while companies
like Forterra systems
are working with
military groups to
develop training simulations.
Virtual sites
for socializing is
defiantly one of the
most popular Virtual
Worlds. One example of
a virtual socializing
site, is MTV
2006 creation of
Virtual Laguna Beach,
a 3- D world
meant to simulate
the southern Californian
beach community. According
to an article
from the New
York Times, ‘’ I’ve
been in that
Club, Just Not In Real
Life ‘’, for more
than two years
the channel has
been building a
collection of Second
Life – style virtual reality
web sites to
compete with social
networks like Myspace
and Facebook.
Virtual worlds
have both positive and negative attributes. One
of the positive
attributes is , getting to
opportunity to live your
life how you
want to in
a Virtual reality world. In
the virtual world,
you can be
anyone you want,
and create your
own lifestyle. According to
an article from
the New York
Times, ‘’ No Budget,
No Boundaries : It’s
the Real You ‘’, in
a simulated universe
like There.com, IMVU.com, or
Second Life. Com, users can
teleport to private
islands and splurge
on luxury brands. In
most virtual worlds,
membership are free,
players can trade
real money for
virtual currencies, to
buy products, save up
in accounts , or
redeem for money.
One negative
attribute of virtual
worlds is that
users may become
addicted. Some users spend
hours in front of the
internet every day ,
and don’t realize
that this can
become a problem. Some
users may lose
money on Virtual
sites that encourages
them to spend
money for additional
products.
Virtual worlds
bring out the
creative side of
people. Through virtual worlds,
people are able
to express their ideas,
try out new
things, uses avatars
to live out
fantasy lives, and it
also allows them
to interact with
people from all
over the World. I
believe that Virtual
worlds will become
popular as the
years progress. More and
More people are
signing up to
new sites, and
wanting to be a
part of
something new and
exciting.
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