1. DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds Week 2 Introduction to Virtual Worlds 6pm – 9pm Tuesday, July 31st, 2006 Owen Macindoe and Kathryn Merrick DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006

2. Announcements  We know what the problem from last week is!  A thorny networking problem  We are trying to get it fixed  How did you go with Tutorial 1 at home? DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006

3. Lecture Overview 1.History of virtual worlds 2.The virtual world experience DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006

4. What is a Virtual World?  A computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact with  Some authors point to the importance of  Persistence  Co-presence  Avatars  Historical overview focuses on worlds of this kind DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006

5. Virtual Worlds 1978-1985  1978: Multi-User DUNGEN written by Trubshaw and revised by Bartle  Inspired by text adventures  Accessible via BBSes and Essex University system  MUD is still live! DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 MUD: telnet://british-legends.com:27750

6. Virtual Worlds 1985-1989  First commercial successes  MUD clones arise: Federation II, Shades, and Gods  Users connect through third party services like CompuServe and CompuNet  Technical advances  Building and player management tools  Separation of driver and world model DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006

7. Virtual Worlds 1989-1995  TinyMUD introduces user-generated content  Collaborative and social focus distinct from other code bases  LPMUD introduces user-generated scripts  TinyMUCK, LambdaMOO, and TinyMUSH extend the social route  DikuMUD moves in the other, game- oriented, direction  Fundamental design split still exists DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006

8. Virtual Worlds 1995-1997  MUDs flourish in the US due to cheap phone calls  Neverwinter Nights pioneers graphical online games in the US  Royalty model earns US $5 million a month for Neverwinter Nights and Gemstone III  Changed pricing model drives away players  2,500 simultaneous players in Gemstone III DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Neverwinter Nights on AOL

9. Virtual Worlds in Korea  Korean gaming  Internet café model  Large online gaming culture  No US adoption  Nexus (1996)  Tessellated graphics  Advanced social systems  Lineage (1998)  Large scale Player versus Player combat  Peak of 3.25 million subscribers in 2003  US$5 million in Q1 2000 DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Nexus: Kingdom of the Winds and Lineage

10. Virtual Worlds 1996  Meridian 59  First 3D MUD yet unsuccessful  Plagued by bugs  Per day pricing model  Poor customer service and marketing  Too early for internet boom DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Meridian 59

11. Virtual Worlds 1997  Ultima Online  Direct subscription model via the internet  100,000 subscribers after one year, 230,000 by 2000  US$12 million per year  Tessellated isometric graphics  Sophisticated economic and social systems  Player housing  First US Massively Multiplayer Online Game DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Ultima Online

12. Virtual Worlds 1997  Active Worlds  User generated content  Limited scripting  Integrated browser  Interconnected worlds  Private servers  Agent Software Developers Kit  Popular with educators  Financial difficulties DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Active Worlds

13. Virtual Worlds 1998-1999  Everquest  Hardware accelerated 3D graphics  DikuMUD inspired gameplay  Zone-based geography  300,000 active subscribers by 2000  Asheron’s Call  Zoneless geography  90,000 active subscribers by 2000 DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Everquest and Asheron’s Call

14. Virtual Worlds 2000 - 2003 DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Ultima Online The Sims Online (2002)Eve Online (2003) Dark Age of Camelot (2001)Star Wars Galaxies (2003)

15. Virtual Worlds 2003  Second Life  In-world 3D modelling tools  User generated scripts  Fully customizable avatars  Players own IP for creations  Real estate based subscription model  Private islands  Sophisticated economy  Support for XMLRPC  Social and educational support  5 million unique users with 94,000 premium accounts in 2007  First virtual world millionaire DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Second Life

16. Virtual Worlds 2005  World of Warcraft  Capitalized on Warcraft brand  Region-dependent subscription model  Heavy use of instancing  UI mods and scripts  Evolutionary rather than revolutionary  9 million subscribers in 2007  Lineage had 3.25 million at peak  ~5 million Chinese subscribers in 2006  ~2 million US & European (source: www.dfcint.com) DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 World of Warcraft

17. Virtual Worlds 2007+  World of Warcraft dominates MUD-like virtual world market  More than 120 MMOG titles exist  Many WoW clones on the horizon  Several successful niche players  Second Life leading player in MUSH-like market niche  Text worlds still exist!  Low overheads encourage innovative game designs  Small player bases facilitate close interaction with developers DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006

18. Offline Virtual Worlds  Games  ADVENT (Colossal Cave Adventure)  Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake  Simulations  Flight simulators  Sim City  The Sims DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Wolfenstein 3D and Flight Simulator X

19. The Virtual World Experience  Simulated world  Persistence  Co-presence  Interactivity  Immersion DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006

20. Simulated World  Physics model  Spatial model  Economic model  Avatars  Objects  Relations  Agents and mobiles DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Node-based spatial model in LambdaMOO

21. Persistence  Key feature of MMOGs in particular  Character advancement  Possessions  Lasting effects of actions  User-generated content  Content re-use issues DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 One of SL’s oldest builds: Stellar Sunshine’s bean stalk

22. Co-Presence  Single-user worlds  Social systems  Collaboration  PvP  Live teams and GMs  Bartle types  Achiever  Socializer  Explorer  Killer DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Large-scale PvP in Planetside

23. Interactivity  Activities  Playing  Creating  Socializing  Exploring  Players  Environment  Live teams  Agents  Scripts  Bartle types again DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Surfeit Surface’s Crooked House in Second Life

24. Immersion  Sense of being in an environment  Roleplaying  Information hiding  User interfaces  Desktop  Headset VR  Projection VR  Haptics  Audio DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006 Headset VR and an industrial flight simulator

25. Tutorial  Find your group members and introduce yourself  Create your Second Life account if you have not already done so  Complete the Orientation Island tutorial  Look for available land for your group DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, July 2006