מעבירים קוביות בין עולמות וירטואליים | Unity3d



נניח שיצרת קוביות בעולם הוירטואלי סקנד לייף ואתה רוצה להעביר אותן באופן ישיר וחלק בזמן אמת לעולמות וירטואליים אחרים? שכח מזה. סקנד לייף הוא עולם וירטואלי המתנהל על גבי פלטפורמה סגורה כמו העולמות הוירטואליים האחרים. זה בלתי אפשרי.

אחת מהמטרות שהציב לעצמו Web3D Consortium היא יצירת סטנדרטים שיאפשרו מעבר חלק בין עולמות וירטואליים שונים, בכל זמן ובכל עת. בקליפ: הדגמת העברת קוביות בין עולמות וירטואליים בעזרת מנוע לפיתוח משחקי המחשב 3dUnity

הכותב, ד"ר חנן גזית, עומד בראש MetaverSense הפועלת בעולמות וירטואליים ומשחקים דיגיטאליים ומתמחה בייעוץ, הדרכה ופיתוח פרויקטים לקהל לקוחותיה: משקיעים ויזמים, חברות, מוסדות וארגונים במגזר הפרטי והציבורי. ד"ר גזית הינו יועץ לאיגוד העולמות הוירטואליים העולמי AVW ומייסד די.ג.ר.ה ישראל- המרכז הישראלי של הארגון הבינלאומי לחקר משחקים דיגיטאליים. חבר מערכת כתב העת הבינלאומי למשחקים וסימולציות נתמכות מחשב. חוקר ומרצה ב H.I.T - מכון טכנולוגי חולון.

Dr. Hanan "VRider" Gazit to present Immersive Education Initiative @ MEITAL's Using Web3D for Higher Education Workshop




I had the pleasure to meet in person Aaron E. Walsh, Grid Institute Founding Director, at the Second Life Education Community Convention (SLEDcc08). Aaron Walsh (aka MediaGridAaron Oh), Nicholas Nagel and Dr Darren Palmer (aka Sisprod Narnia) delivered an interesting Immersive Education Initiative workshop entitled: "Second Life in the Age of Immersive Education". They presented The Immersive Education Initiative (http://ImmersiveEducation.org/) and an in-depth overview of Second Life’s role as an Immersive Education platform. Following the workshop they invited us to take a tour at the Greenbush project on the Open Sim.

Tomorrow at the ViMenotors Academic workshop: Using Web3D for Higher Education at MEITAL , I'll present Immersive Education Initiative and mission among other cool stuff which is going on the Web3D for Education. I’m delighted to join and contribute to the Immersive Education Initiative and to the MediaGrid.org standards group.

About Immersive Education
Immersive Education (ImmersiveEducation.org) combines interactive 3D graphics, commercial game and simulation technology, virtual reality, voice chat (Voice over IP/VoIP), Web cameras (webcams) and rich digital media with collaborative online course environments and classrooms. Immersive Education gives participants a sense of "being there" even when attending a class or training session in person isn't possible, practical, or desirable, which in turn provides educators and students with the ability to connect and communicate in a way that greatly enhances the learning experience. Unlike traditional computer-based learning systems, Immersive Education is designed to immerse and engage students in the same way that today's best video games grab and keep the attention of players. Immersive Education supports self-directed learning as well as collaborative group-based learning environments that can be delivered over the Internet or using fixed-media such as CD-ROM and DVD. Shorter mini-games and interactive lessons can be injected into larger bodies of course material to further heighten and enrich the Immersive Education experience.

About the Media Grid

The Media Grid is a public utility for digital media. Based on new and emerging distributed omputational grid technologies, the Media Grid builds upon existing Internet and Web standards to create a unique network optimized for digital media delivery, storage, and processing. As an on-demand public computing utility, a range of software programs and Web sites can use the Media Grid for delivery and storage of rich media content, media processing, and computing power. The Media Grid is an open and extensible platform that enables a wide range of applications not possible with the traditional Internet alone, including: Massive Media on Demand (MMoD); Interactive digital cinema on demand; Immersive Education and distance learning; Truly immersive multiplayer games and Virtual Reality (VR); Hollywood movie and film rendering, special effects, and composition; Real-time rendering of high resolution graphics; Real-time visualization of complex weather patterns; Real-time protein modeling and drug design; Telepresence, telemedicine, and telesurgery; Vehicle and aircraft design and simulation; Visualization of scientific and medical data.

On top: Aaron Walsh visited Greenbush Island to discuss Immersive Education and the Education Grid, on 15 of April 2008. Courtesy of GreenbushTV

Living La Vida Ludic | Barry Joseph's lecture @ SLEDcc08


I had the pleasure and joy of attending Barry Joseph's keynote at the SLEDcc 2008 Second Life educator's convention entitled:

"Why Second Life Can't Tip: The Power and Perils of Living La Vida Ludic"


Barry introduced the term he coined, "the ludic life," and discuss its implications for Second Life and learning. Elaborating Eric Zimmerman's argument that we have entered "a ludic century", meaning that we are now interacting with information in a ludic way. The ludic way, according to Zimmerman is not to say everything is becoming a game but rather game/play dynamics, aesthetics and sensibilities will increasingly define our social interactions. Barry argues that Second Life is a better example and, more importantly, the way in which Second Life allows users to combine their real life identities and practices within a ludic context not only makes it a powerful space for teaching people how to live a ludic life, but it also becomes the key defining characteristic of the Second Life experience.

It is highly recommended to go to www.rezed.org/group/ludiclife
to watch the powerpoint while listening to the presentation audio or watching the video.


my two cents:
Lessons from my research on digital games interactions among children and teenagers: Living the ludic life is very compelling and at the same time, very complex and challenging from many perspectives.
link: http://www.vrider.net/2008/07/handbook-of-research-on-effective.html

Ever wondered about who plays? how much he plays and why? interesting empirical based answers by Dmitri Williams and friends now published on terra nova blog is a must.
link: http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2008/09/who-plays-how-m.html

Click for the full text paper here, at the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, with no access restrictions.

Game-On!

Dr. Hanan "VRider" Gazit