Designing Virtual Worlds

Designing Virtual Worlds, authored by a true pioneer, stands as the most comprehensive examination of virtual-world design ever written. This seminal work is a tour de force, remarkable for its intellectual breadth, encompassing the literary, economic, sociological, psychological, physical, technological, and ethical foundations of virtual worlds. It provides readers with a profound, well-grounded understanding of essential design principles. This second volume examines and explains the tasks and perspectives involved in designing the “world” of virtual worlds, from abstract spaces through concrete spaces to physics. The non-player inhabitants of virtual worlds are discussed in detail, along with the artificial intelligence techniques that can control them. The volume is rounded-off with an analysis of how player characters fit in virtual worlds. No other book on online games or virtual worlds matches the level of detail, historical context, and conceptual depth found in Designing Virtual Worlds.