Category Archives: Virtual Environments

When I was a child, this was called cyberspace. Nowadays, we talk about the internet. Tomorrow, we might talk about the metaverse (coined in Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson). These ‘virtual’ realities hold promise, but we don’t yet understand them.

Opensim Practical Project 2012 – Screenshots

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For a module in virtual environments, my students build their own virtual worlds with a theme and purpose of their own choosing. The idea was to combine various kinds of media (audio/video, scripts, links) into a coherent whole using OpenSim as a development environment. This is also their practical examination.

This year, I saw a lot of impressive models developed using third-party tools such as Blender, 3D Studio Max and Google SketchUp. I encouraged them to use in-world tools initially – to become familiar with using Second Life.  Next year, though, I will definitely include a third-party tool section.

Worlds, by (avatar names):

  1. Sonic the Hedgehog Simulation, by Sean Brand
  2. Athletics World, by Antz81
  3. Anchorhead Tatooine, by Bestnickname
  4. Naruto World, by Darnitalian
  5. League of Legends Simulation, by Darntwaiwanese
  6. Warhammer 40k Compound, by Gdswardt
  7. Island Paradise, by Henk
  8. Theme Park, by Sltw02011
  9. NASA base and Moon Simulation, by StaticBlur
  10. Angry Birds Simulation, by Zziworld
  11. Sports World, by Alwyns
  12. Futuristic NASA Colony, by Brometheu5
  13. The Wandering Isle (inspired by Mists of Pandaria), by Celynthria
  14. U2 Concert, by Go0Sie
  15. Paintball Arena, by JJBotha [pending]

Have a look at 2011′s group too. If you’re interested in contacting any of these students, let me know.

Refreshing news! E-ink is improving.

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E-ink is the display technology that drives ereaders such as the Kindle Keyboard or Kobo Touch. As with display technologies before it, e-ink‘s full potential has yet to be realised. Nate Hoffelder reports on a hack of Barnes and Noble’s Nook Touch ereader that dramatically increases its refresh rate .

Interaction with information that doesn’t happen in real-time is a terrible jolt to the user experience. We experience this frustration when web pages load slowly, video stutters, Google Earth view lags…

Even for non internet-based products, such as head-mounted displays for virtual reality or a PC application that’s just taking an age to respond, this delayed response thoroughly confounds us.

If you’re familiar with e-ink displays, you’ll know their limitations are related to their refresh rate. The video you see demonstrates a step closer to real-time interaction with e-ink displays. Since colour e-ink displays are being produced, this leads to the possibility of low-power, durable and sun-friendly displays that have the capabilities we expect from media tablets: touch interaction, responsive applications and video.

Maybe I’m making too much of a deal of a hack. Yet, I’m excited about low-power technology (anyone living in South Africa during Eskom’s “load shedding” debacle can attest to this!).

 

Opensim Practical Project 2011 – Screenshots

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My students don’t only hold tours in Second Life, I also have them build their own virtual world using OpenSim, an open-source version of SL. This is also their practical examination.

The worlds are standalone at the moment, but in future I’m going to try maintaining one sim for the whole class.

Great job, guys!

Worlds, by (avatar names)

* William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, by Glain
* The Enchanted Fairy World, by Merida
* The Beach, by Frankie
* Not a Generic Western Town, by Brabman
* Not a Skyrim Clone – Nordic Landscape, by Mlouw
* The Seasons, by Thatmax
* Bikini Bottom, by Malman (or Spongebob Squarepants in this case!)
* The Mayans, by Sarthira -
* Western Inspired by Red Dead Redemption, by Henkasaur
* The Land of Robotorinia, by Wulphy (or Kerebos Prime in this case!)
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Findulas (or Willy Wonka in this case!)
* Medieval Port Village, by Wester

Second Life tours and virtual worlds – screenshots

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In one of the modules I coordinate, students learn about all kinds of virtual worlds. We have meetings in Second Life, where one group acts as tour guides for that evening. I also have them build their own virtual world using OpenSim, an open-source version of SL.

This post showcases the tours. In the next post, I’ll showcase the group’s own virtual worlds.

1. Virtual tours

I had to choose two screenshots per tour out of dozens. Each one-hour session was a lot of fun – despite intermittent frustrations with South African internet access. 

1. Wulphy and Findulas
Highlights of this tour include an underwater fantasy world with ridable sea creatures and a Halloween-inspired sim where we flew on enchanted brooms.   

2. Glain and Merida
A Thai-themed tour which included a walk of the lotus gardens and dancing in the ballroom of a golden palace.

3. Brab and Mlouw
A Viking-inspired sim where we went on boar hunts, toured Fjords and lounged in a lavish Nordic homestead. The frozen forests and Aurora Borealis were sights to behold.

4. Thatmax and Sh1fty
Highlights of this tour include a drumming circle inside a (what seemed to me!) Gothic mausoleum as well as the first in-world books I’ve seen. Most information in SL is presented by text-only notes or images placed on walls.

5. Henkasaur, 4saken, Sarthira
In this murder mystery tour, entitled “Springtime Slaughter”, we explored all kinds of things, among which were a Cluedo game, a Whodunnit? detective game inside a house and  a massive stone palace. We also discovered dragons and practised fencing.

6. Malman, Frankieflower
To end off our virtual tours, we were taken to a theme park where we enjoyed some crazy rides, pigged out on carnival food and retired to a games room where we relived teen memories of playing the spin-the-bottle.

I’ll add SLURLS to the locations in time.