Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
National Endowment for the Arts grant) lead to the Mattel Power Glove. Thomas Zimmerman, Jaron Lanier,
and Scott Fisher met at Atari and later worked on the VPL glove [15].
At the same time, virtual worlds were being created in computers and in the early versions of the Internet.
In 1974, Maze War was created, an early ancestor of the irst-person shooter game; this included the irst
appearance of avatars, game space maps, and a irst-person 3D perspective within the game space [16].
By 1978, the irst MUD (Multi-user Dungeon) arrived. Known as the “Essex MUD” and played on the
Essex University (UK) network, it ran until late 1987 [17]. The Essex MUD was a text-based game, creating
a “constructivist” approach to virtual reality by allowing the players' imagination to construct the virtual
world as they role-play with others online. Also notable was Krueger's Videoplace, created in 1983. It was
the irst graphics and gesture recognition environment [18].
1.2.5 g
aming
and
V
irTual
W
orlds
By 1986, Lucasilm Games, Quantum Link, and Fujitsu had opened “Habitat” [19]. This was a signiicant
step toward creating online gaming communities in virtual worlds. The imagination of the public and the
appetite for immersive virtual worlds was stimulated by the appearance of the holodeck in
Star Trek, the Next
Generation
(1987) [20]. MUDs were reinvented with the appearance of TinyMUD in 1989. This codebase,
which created a socially oriented MUD, was based on player cooperation rather than competition and opened
the door for socially based virtual worlds [21].
The early 1990s saw the invention and construction of the irst CAVE at the University of Illinois in
Chicago (1992). In the CAVE, all the technologies that had come before it were combined into one powerful
device, creating intense immersive experiences. Still active today, the CAVE has video images projected in
stereoscopic 3D. When they are inside it, visitors wear an HMD containing stereoscopic LCD (liquid crystal
digital) shutter glasses to view the environment. Sensors collect information about the location and body
position of the visitor and adjust the projection ields accordingly [22]. In 1993, Doom started the craze for
gamers' irst-person shooter games, creating the foundation of a gamer subculture, and was played by over
10 million within the irst 2 years of its appearance. Full of graphic violent imagery, Doom has been named
one of the 10 most controversial games of all time by Yahoo Games [23].
The mid-1990s ushered in a wave of online, socially based, constructive virtual worlds; among the most
popular were, Worlds Chat, Active Worlds, and WorldsAway [24]. Although it seems impossible these days,
these worlds functioned on a dial-up connection. In 1995, the ban on commercial usage of the Internet
was lifted, and a home-based connection to more sophisticated games became possible. Eventually, broad-
band cable and Internet connections became available, paving the way for increased popularity of online
gaming and virtual worlds [25]. EverQuest and Runescape were early members of the online virtual world
MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) category [26]. Soon, large, established games
and entertainment franchises like World of Warcraft and Star Wars created their own virtual worlds [27].
Also in the early 2000s, the virtual worlds of Second Life and There combined social connection with user-
generated content that could be bought and sold in the virtual world market [28,29]. As the midpoint of the
second decade of this century approaches, increasing interactivity and immersion is being interwoven into
the online home-based experience of virtual worlds. Many game makers and virtual world developers are
striving toward creating an open game, one without levels or barriers that creates a compelling story through
the emergent play of its visitors [30]. In 2007, OpenSimulator (or OpenSim, the abbreviation used in this
topic) arrived and started the creation of a system of virtual world grids, the foundation of a 3D Internet. This
software, based on the Second Life protocols, does not seek to be a copy of Second Life; it seeks to expand
the virtual worlds' Metaverse and provide connectivity among them all [31]. Kinect for Xbox 360 has been
hacked to capture real-time motion tracking, and the Oculus Rift HMD holds promise for eager customers
