DAI627 Virtual Worlds Design_iWuenWang

links to pdfs

2009-05-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

power point presentation
virtual tourism proposal

Virtual Tourism Experiment Plan

2009-04-16T04:10:00.000-07:00

1) Experiment Title: Virtual Tourism--get a taste before you book your ticket

2) Experiment Scenario:
The experiment takes place in a distinctive venue that is of cultural values and hopefully with a local group of users.

3) Experiment Mechanics:
The tourists will be given roles which they do activities of local norms (maybe traditional dance). They can also learn languages from the tour guides/ local people. If possible to get users from the local country to participate, tourists can mix and mingle with the locals to learn their culture. It will also be a good opportunity for them to make new friends before they travel to the country.

4) SL Location:
Still searching but a potential location will be Japan, Sapporo. (29, 120, 23).

5) Roles:
Tour guides-- Tour guides will take the tourists around and introduce them to places of interest and activities to do. They will also be responsible to teach tourists about the culture and maybe language of the country.

Tourists-- explore and have fun!

Locals-- the locals will be like the ambassadors of the country. They will try to promote their country and exchange culture with tourists.

6) Role Assignments:
TBA

7) Production Plan:
I will have to buy or script some gestures/ pose balls that animates the tourists to do certain activities. An event have to be planned to invite/ recruit other users (hopefully locals) to join the experiment.For full description of "not your mother tourist group", visit Zhen's blog.

Cool Exericse

2009-04-09T02:49:00.000-07:00

Cool places

Japan Sapporo (29, 120, 23)
i'm not very sure if this is a replica of the real Sapporo but this is very cool! There's a lot to do and see in this place. Seems like events/ concerts can be held here. The most interesting thing i found in this place is a noodle-bowl shaped like elevator. The elevator actually brings you to different levels which floats in the air. Very cute and cool.

Korea University (128, 128, 33)
Very well built, i hope SFSU was like that......I believe this is a replica of Korea University? Or maybe someone idealized their school to be like that. There's a campus map upfront at the gate and the University was built very thorougly with class rooms and lecture halls. Very impressive.

Sandboxes are always fun. So much to see, so much to touch. Different objects and scripts created by different people. I'm always impressed everything i visit a Sandbox. This one is Mauve (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mauve/166/205/41)

Cool Features
At first flying seems unrealistic to me, but then as I was running around for a while by using the "always run" option, and for some reason my avatar kept running to nowhere, I realized what the flying button is for. A little too late, i know...

Another cool feature I find is the ability to build and script anything you want and sell or share it with anybody to use. I thought that was pretty cool because this is very different from other games that are give limited access to the gamers in terms of building and scripting.

Another cool and useful feature would be the teleporting feature. It is very convenient and time saving to be able to teleport yourself or your friend to a specific location. You can also save the slurl and the given address will bring you from your internet browser to the location in SL!

Building Exercise
Hurray! to my first object buillt in second life, whatever that is!! Building 3D objects is harder than i thought, maybe that's probably why i'm not a product major. I was going to build an enviromentally friendly recycle bin, kinda looks like it? No? Well, i tried.

I gave my first time of 3D-rendering to Wing's 3D. I tried to make a seashell but couldn't figure out the way to give the sea shell patterns that would make it look more life like. For the first trial, i was going to make a tear drop shaped accessories but went crazy, so i had to ditch my first experiment. The second trial went more smoothly since i had some experience and learned my lessons with my first failure. Everything went smoothly until i rotate the camera....i didn't realize and totally forgot about the BACK of the object.

final project concept 2-- virtual tourism

2009-03-17T02:44:00.000-07:00

Virtual tours can often be found on TV ads and websites for new housing development or University campuses. I believe that the potential of virtual tour can be extended to tourism considering the tourist's behavior of planning their trips online or even purchasing guide books.
I want to build an international network, that works in hand with a mapping system (i.e google map), which allows people from different countries recreate their local tourist attractions. Users will be able to research and preview their travel destination before hand and then review and comment about the network for its reliability.
Often times, I find tourist guide books untruthful and vague because they are not written by the locals and consist of mostly texts. The virtual tourism will not only provide better visual experience, it also allows the users to exchange feedback and comments, they can also meet with some locals in the virtual world to exchange opinions. The users and tourists contribute to the network to form better trust in the network. I hope that virtual tourism will be beneficial to cultural exchange around the world.

Welcome to the era of Virtual World

2009-03-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

I remember the very first time I got in touch with computer, I was gratified with a social network called ICQ or IRC. I can still clearly remember the sound notification, "Uh-oh", that kept me up all night, chatting with friends who I was going to meet in class the next morning.
From ICQ to MSN, to Friendster and Facebook, Bloggers to now--Virtual world. The technology advancement is obvious, as people gradually spend more time on internet on daily basis. I was unaware of the flourishing of virtual world until recently, I saw more ads of virtual world on websites, and finally, a friend of mine invited me to join a virtual world on Facebook-- Yoville.

Then, memory flashed back, I've seen these before!! (i know..a little late on this....but...hey!) Virtual pet, and even a virtual town, reconstructed based on my hometown, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA!! Where have I been all these time?!! It is a web-based virtual game called Meetoto where people create their own avatar and meet new people. To upgrade yourself in the game, you have to earn money by going to work. The most popular activity in Meetoto is singing-- people hook up their microphones and literally sing to background music that they play with their computer, or they can just sing to any instrument they wish. The music is streamed real time while the avatar stand on a "stage" and "perform". Your audience give feedback to your performance by cheering you and voting you, which earn you points.

The gamers profile age from 13 to 30 and are mostly from Malaysia. Buildings in the games are reconstructive of the local buildings (branding and names but not the architectural structure). It is undeniable that virtual world design has become a new form of social networking that is popular among the younger generation. We human are visually attentive after all.

my bartle test result-- KILLER

2009-03-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

My gamer result came out to be just as I thought-- a KILLER!! I am positively sure that I am not a socializer since I think I've passed the age to get around to chat with strangers who I will possibly not have a chance to meet with them in real time. (*laugh) I would rather invest my time seeking for excitements and sense of accomplishment in games.

As for Jackie, the newborn to Second Life, her gamer result turned out to be absolutely opposite of me-- a Socializer. Since she's curious about everything and everyone in the virtual world, she wants to makes friends with everybody so that she can blend into the society naturally.

Concept for final project

2009-03-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

After looking at the virtual art on youtube, I wanted to create a better platform for creative people to exhibit or even perform their work. I feel that it is a waste for these creative pieces be unknown to people even in Second Life because in Second Life, people log into the game for different motives and therefore great events can sometimes be unknown of.

I want to build a virtual musuem, with a stage, where people can perform their work in live action. Creating virtual art in live action will be the hardest to be archieve in terms of scripting. After completing their work, they can exhibit their work in the musuem for people to admire.

Virtual art in Second Life

2009-03-04T16:37:00.000-08:00

Janis's presentation led my perception of virtual design to a whole new level. I was impressed by design process of virtual world design as much as I am impressed by what virtual world was able to perform. It is more than a social network application, especially Second Life. From ToonTown to There.com, there were distinct differences in how each are designed to fit its users. I went on and research about virtual world design, to find the more possibilities that I failed to see earlier. Virtual art was just a few clicks away when I surfed through random video on youtube -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoNKi_lu7Pc&feature=related

Virtual artist in Second Life, is something that I never thought of when I sign in the Second Life premium membership. To be honest, I was more frustrated with Second Life than enjoying it as virtual world is rather unfamiliar to me. I did not buy the idea of "living a superficial life on internet and then losing human and nature touch in real world". But I guess I was wrong. These web applications are developed by those who wants to do the impossible, to extend their creativity out into the imaginary. Of course, there are many software available today that is capable of doing so, but in virtual world, these applications are now for everyone to experience. It is more than a play ground, it is a platform that cultivates creative minds from around the world.

GetALife?

2009-02-24T01:41:00.000-08:00

Navigating in Second Life isn't as simple as I thought it would be. It took me hours to figure out the all the HUD's and how things work in Second Life. The HUD's and information in Second Life does not approach to the user attentively, as being compared to ToonTown. Of course, Second Life is obviously not build for children. But the possibility of children playing Second Life may surprise me. However, considering the name of the game "Second Life", I cannot imagine any child would likely to be thinking about living a second life.

I am not very sure about the user age group, as I encountered many different characters who could range from teenagers to working men. They come in different shapes and sizes, and attitudes too. Some were not very friendly and some were just weird. Their motives were unclear to me though, spending hours just to get started in this game seemed a little too much for me. Information were placed on avatars and walls in form of advertisement, which I find a little unusual and interesting. Because some objects and venues are designed by other users, I have to be assertive about constantly searching and updating my information. Being a new user, this has become the most annoying and frustrating experience. I felt like I was being placed in an alien world by myself, which is the reason behind the creation of the persona of my avatar.

Jackie got lost in her Second Life

2009-02-24T01:16:00.000-08:00

Jackie Aljon, is a young and inexperienced girl, who accidentally step into her second life. Captivated and kept away from the society since she was born, she came from a world where social events were unheard of. She got her first taste of freedom in her second life, running and flying to where ever place she desires. She meets and talks to different kinds of people, in her own way, that is not of the social norm in the second life world. She is a very bright and outgoing character, who is not afraid to express her feelings. She is curios about everything, and finds everything interesting but sometimes provoking. Will Jackie be able to survive her second life? Will her social behavior be accepted by the society in Second life?

Not-so-Disney Online: ToonTown

2009-02-05T01:10:00.000-08:00

Throwing pies and pulling pranks...what happened to the beautiful princess and the giant white castle? I remember when i was a kid, i always wanted to become the princess that waits for my prince's arrival. Being in part of fairytale stories is always a dream of many children. With the technology today, this is no more a dream. Children no longer need to have their parents read them bedtime stories, they can now indulge in Disney World and become heroes of their own.

How are various tasks and goals communicated to you at the start of the game? How and why does this evolve as you gain more experience?
During the beginning of the game, I was led by Mickey through very simple steps to create my avatar. Other characters in the game also helped me get to know the place better through conversation (speech bubble). It was like a mini tutorial to getting started. As I gained more experience, I was more comfortable walking around the game and using the map for navigation. The HQ is important in the game as it is the source of information and it is also where I get new tasks.

What is the step-by-step procedure you must complete before defeating a Cog? How are you guided through this procedure? How does this change when you're attempting to defeat a relatively powerful Cog?
To defeat the Cog, I need to be prepared. I need to play mini games to get jellybeans and then buy my “weapons” from shop. After my loading my armors, I need to make sure that I am healthy enough to combat. When all prepared, I go out and look for Cogs. I will attack the Cog and then wait for his counterattack. If I am powerful enough and the Cog is of lower level, I will be able to defeat him by myself. If not, other players may join me to battle the Cog. If I failed to fight the Cog, the Cog strained all my health and I will be send back to playground until my health recovers.

The concept of “health” of each avatar is a key element in all online virtual worlds. In Toontown, how is “health” managed and its status displayed?
In Toontown, health is managed by happiness. The status is displayed at a corner and is indicated with bars, numbers and colors. The avatar’s health decreases when attacked in battle. To recover health, the avatar needs to do something that makes him/ her happy, for example “eating” icecream, or playing games in the playground. During battle, avatar’s health can also be recovered by whoever teammates that has the ability to cheer up others.