Journal For Virtual Worlds Research (Texas Digital Library - TDL E-Journals)
Not a member yet
366 research outputs found
Sort by
Second Life Physics : Virtual, Real or Surreal?
No full textScience teaching detached itself from Reality and became restricted to the classrooms and textbooks with their abundance of standardized and repetitive exercises, while students keep their own alternative conceptions. Papert, displeased with this inefficient learning process, as early as 1980 championed physics microworlds, where students could experience a variety of laws of motion, from Aristotle to Newton and Einstein or eve
Interconnecting virtual worlds
No full textThe argument is put forward that current virtual worlds find themselves in a situation akin to that of BBS systems in the 1980s and 1990s vis
Pitfalls in 3-D Virtual Worlds Health Project Evaluations: The Trap of Drug-trial-style Media Comparative Studies
No full textThis \u27think-piece\u27 proposes to avoid evaluation trials comparing 3-D virtual worlds and the flat Web, and to instead investigate and evaluate the two modalities as different but complementary and synergistic media rather than as competing media trying to replace one another
An integrated framework for simulation-based training on video and in a virtual world
No full textBecoming a skilled professional requires both the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and the practice of skills relevant to on
Introduction: Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in Virtual Worlds
No full textIntroductionPedagogy, Education and Innovation in Virtual WorldsGuest Editors:Leslie Jarmon, University of Texas at Austin;Kenneth Y. T. Lim, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore;B. Stephen Carpenter, II, Texas A&M University
Knee-High Boots and Six-Pack Abs: Autoethnographic Reflections on Gender and Technology in Second Life
No full textIn this paper, we explore the experience and performance of gender online in Second Life, currently one of the most popular virtual world platforms. Based on two collaborative autoethnographic projects, we propose that gender has to be explored at the intersection between our own situated perspective and the vision embedded in the social and technical infrastructure of the virtual world. For us, the visual element of a 3D world further frames the representation and performance of gender, while technical skill becomes a crucial factor in constructing our ability to play with this performance. As we recollect and interrogate our own experiences in SL, we argue that the relation between gender and virtual worlds is a complex and multifaceted one, proposing our positioned account of experiencing this relation. It is critical, we suggest, that studies of mediated experience in virtual worlds take into account the position of the researcher i
Payback of Mining Activities Within Entropia Universe
No full textIn subscription-based virtual worlds the fee a user pays for participation is clear. However, in worlds in which the provider\u27s revenue is generated via transactions made by users using a real in-world currency, lack of transparency in the underlying mechanisms can make it difficult for a user to gauge the service fee being paid. This paper studies the payback of mining activities within the virtual world Entropia Universe, with an aim to determine the cost of participation in this activity for the user. Entropia Universe developer MindArk estimates the normal service fee for an active user averages at $1 per hour. We compare our findings to this figure and observe how transactions between players can affect a user\u27s returns. A statistical approach is employed, based on a large number of data points acquired by two Entropia Universe avatars. A theoretical mining-returns model is also created, consistent with our data sets, and is used to make predictions about general cost and profitability for Entropia Universe miners. These methods could be used to analyse the economy of other activities in Entropia Universe, and possibly activities other virtual worlds
No full textThis paper explores the neglected area of clothing and fashion in computer games, particularly MMORPGs, which we claim is an important aspect of game aesthetics and player performance. Combining knowledge from the cultural studies of fashion with a study of the function and importance of clothing in the gameworld World of Warcraft (WoW), and drawing on qualitative methods, we argue that fashion in an online gameworld like WoW is a vehicle for personal storytelling and individualization
The Constitution of Collective Memory in Virtual Game Worlds
No full textIn this paper, we explore the constitution of collective memory in virtual game worlds. Based on ethnographic data gathered during a three year participatory observation in two Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs), we study the collective practices, histories, memories, and identities that the members of two large guilds engaged and practice. Research findings indicate that the constitution of collective memory and identity of a virtual community drastically differentiates form regular communities in the physical reality. This is due to the issues of cultural heterogeneity, the interpretation of the virtual worl
Striking a Balance between Property and Personality: The Case of the Avatars
No full textVirtual worlds, as powerful social platforms of intense human interaction, gather millions of users worldwide, producing massive economies of their own, giving rise to the birth of complex social relationships and the formation of virtual communities. By enabling the creativity of the player and figuring as an outstanding example of new online collaborative environments, virtual worlds emerge as context
for creation, allowing for users to undertake a digital alter-ego and
become artists, creators and authors. Nevertheless, such digital egos are not merely creations, but a reflex of their creators, an extension of their personalities and indicia of their identities. As a result, this paper perceives the avatar not only as a property item (avatar as the playe