Virtual environment

Definition

This is a short overview entry with pointers to more specialized articles in this wiki. It also includes some general links and reference.

(Note: Maybe all these articles ought to be reorganized at some point - Daniel K. Schneider 25 August 2008)

A virtual environment is a "place" containing things that can be manipulated and people. It conveys a sense of presence.

Types of virtual environments (internal links you can follow up in random order):

• Shared spaces. Best to start with, since this entry shortly presents a more interesting taxonomy of virtual environments.
• text-based virtual reality, such as MOOs and MUDs
• Some Multi-user chat (MUC) systems, e.g. those that] add graphics and/or objects.
• Multi-user games with persistant storage features (mostly MMORPGs)
• Multi-user 2D interactive environments
• Multi-user 3D interactive environments with persistant storage capabilities, a multi-user variant of desktop virtual reality.
• Immersive 3D environments, i.e. true immersive virtual reality environments
• any other form of virtual habitats
• Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) - this includes habitats like MUDs, MMORPGs as well as some CSCW systems.
• Virtual reality (immersive).
• Immersive virtual environments, i.e. a term that englobes various types of virtual and augmented realities.
• Mixed reality, i.e. the combination of augmented reality with virtual reality or desktop virtual reality.

See also related conceptual issues, e.g.:

• Community of practice
• Virtual community
• Virtual learning environment
• Virtual laboratory

History

See Raph Koster's excellent Online World Timeline

Typology of virtual environments

There is no real consensus on what constitutes a virtual environment. See also Benford's categorization of shared spaces.

Here is a picture made by DSchneider that shows a variety of such environments and their potential for education:

Examples

• Open Cobalt
• Second Life

Links

• Designing Virtual Worlds Bibliography (excellent collection of online texts).
• Terra Nova (good blog to keep in touch with the latest trends in non-educational on-line worlds)

• There are some Wikipedia articles that include useful information, e.g.
  • Habitat (video game) (Wikipedia).
  • Virtual communities
  • Cyberspace (Wikipedia)
  • Virtual reality (Wikipedia, aliases from "virtual environment")
  • simulated reality

• Association of Virtual Worlds publishes the free green (business guide) and blue (consumer) books.
  • The blue book has a good long list of virtual environments (including ones for educational use). All kinds of technical environments are considered, most are desktop 3D. As of April 2009 its latest edition was: 5th Edition Jan 2009.

References

• Dieberger, A. (1999) Social connotations of space in the Design for Virtual Communities and Social Navigation. In Munro, A., Höök K. & Benyon D. (Eds), Social Navigation of Information Space, pp. 35-54. Springer: London