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Written as the successor to Virtual World Design: Creating Immersive Virtual Environments, this book carries the ideas brought forward in its predecessor to new levels of virtual world design exploration and experimentation. Written by an Emmy award-winning designer with 22 years of experience creating virtual environments for television and online communities, Extending Virtual Worlds: Advanced Design for Virtual Environments explores advanced topics such as multi-regional design, game-based sims, and narrative structure for environments.

The book provides bedrock knowledge and practical examples of how to leverage design concepts within the intertwined structures of physics engines, level of detail (LOD) systems, and advanced material editors. It also shows designers new ways to influence the experience of virtual world visitors through immersive narrative and storytelling. With over 150 illustrations and 10 step-by-step projects that include the necessary 3D models and modular components, it delivers hours of stimulating creative challenges for people working in public virtual worlds or on private grids.

By using this book, novices and advanced users will deepen their understanding of game design and how it can be applied to creating game-based virtual environments. It also serves as a foundational text for class work in distance learning, simulation, and other learning technologies that use virtual environments.



Table of Contents

Concepts in Advanced Design for Game-Based Virtual Environments

Overview of Concepts in Advanced Design for Game-Based Virtual Environments

Transrealistic Design, Constructive Imagination, and Virtual Environments

Designing for Games in Your Virtual Environment

Designing for the Reality-Virtuality Continuum

Designing for the Interconnected Virtual Environment; from a Rhizome to the Vizome

Universal Design and Safety in Virtual Environments

Design with Code for Virtual Environments

Taking a Design Discovery Voyage

Chapter Summary and Final Thoughts

References

About the Viewers and Content Created for This Book

Overview of about the Viewers and Content Used for This Book

Virtual World Viewers and Game Interfaces Used in This Book

How the Client Viewer Impacts Virtual World Designing

Selecting a Viewer for Second Life and OpenSim

Viewer Settings to Enhance Your Safety

Viewers, Settings, and Considerations for Universal Access

Some Notes about the Gear

How to Get and Upload the Content for This Book into Your Virtual World

Settings Guidelines for Uploading This Book's Content into Your Virtual World

Licensing Information

How to Use the LSL Scripts Provided

Chapter Summary and Thoughts

References

The Vizome, Developing Creativity, and Virtual Environmental Design

Overview of the Vizome, Developing Creativity, and Virtual Environmental Design

Discovering the Vizome

Pushing the Design Further by Using Observations within the Vizome

Designing with Semiotics, Collective Intelligence, and Perspectivism

Setting up a Creation System to Develop Ideas Like a Vizome

Spotlight on Deborah Thomas: SillyMonkey Games, Training, and Social Media

Chapter Summary and Final Thoughts

References

Planning and Prototyping the Design of a Game-Based Virtual Environment

Overview of Planning and Prototyping the Design of a Game-Based Virtual Environment

Emergent Gameplay in Virtual Worlds

Types of Games Found in Virtual Environments, and the Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics (MDA) Framework

Designing for Game Player Types

Documents, Prototypes, and Game-Based Virtual Environments

Playtesting the Prototype and Game Jamming for Game Design Development

Project: Creating Four Development Documents for a Game-Based Sim

Chapter Summary and Final Thoughts

References

Designing for Social Interaction in Virtual Spaces

Overview of Designing for Social Interaction in Virtual Spaces

Designing for the ´I,´ You,´ and ´Us´ in a Virtual Environment

The Face, the Voice, and Social Interaction

Designing for Social Media Interaction

Designing for Social Collaboration and Competition

Project: Building a Collection of Related Content for Your Game-Based Sim

Chapter Summary and Final Thoughts

References

Developing the Designer-Scripter Collaboration

Overview of Developing the Designer-Scripter Collaboration

Collaborating Guidelines for Working Together on an Advanced Design

Case Study: Scripted Trees and Emergent Play on Sundial, the Season Changing Sim

Case Study: Creating a Game-Based Sim Called ´Inland: Search for the Sky´

Top 10 List of Scripts That You Should Have

Other Scripting Languages Used in Virtual Worlds

Project: ´Script Roulette´-A Collaborative Game of Chance

Chapter Summary and Final Thoughts

References

Designing with Level of Detail (LOD)

Overview of Designing with Level of Detail (LOD)

Fundamentals of LOD Systems for Designers

Perception and LOD: The Basics

Making LOD Work for You

Client Viewer Settings, Imports, and LOD

Project: Creating Mesh Content from Photogrammetry; Working with LOD

Chapter Summary and Final Thoughts

References

Designing with Virtual Physics in Mind

Overview of Designing with Physics in Mind

Spotlight on Professor Vicki Robinson: Teaching Real-World Physics in a Virtual World

The Basic Elements of Physics in a Virtual World

Basic Vehicles and Their Functionality

Important Considerations of a Vehicle Design

Universal Design for Vehicles

Design Planning for Vehicle Usage

Project: Creating a Fae (Fairy) Boat Vehicle for Your Game-Based Sim

Chapter Summary and Final Thoughts

References

Landscape and Terrain Design in Virtual Environments

Overview of Landscape and Terrain Design in Virtual Environments

Landscape Personality and Social Relationships to the Virtual Terrain

What World Are You From?

Using Your Worldview and Storytelling to Create a Landscape/Terrain Design

Exploring Terrain Methodologies: Heightmaps, Polygons, and Voxels

Project: Creating a Four-Region, Game-Based Terrain

Chapter Summary and Final Thoughts

References

Design Considerations and Mesh Usage in Virtual Environments

Overview of Design Considerations and Mesh Usage in Virtual Environments

Sources for Mesh in a Virtual Environment

Overview of Rigged Meshes; Moving Avatars and Their Clothing

Comparison of 3D Mesh-Making Programs; Some Thoughts on Choosing One

Project: Building a Game-Based Environment with Component Meshes

Chapter Summary and Final Thoughts

References

Designing with Advanced Materials and Animated Graphic/Textures

Overview of Designing with Advanced Materials and Animated Graphic/Textures

The Structure of an Advanced Material Used in Virtual Environments

Designing with Advanced Materials in Mind

UV Unwrapping and Uploads of Meshes with Advanced