Virtual Worlds

Intro
How it all started
What it is all about
How it can affect you
What about the Future

Active Worlds Basics
More info on AW
Installing the Browser
Using the Browser

Active Worlds Edu
AW for educational use

The Palace Basics
More info on The Palace
Installing the Client
Using the Client

The Palace Edu
The Palace for educational use

As said in the 'Welcome' page the first true multi-user Virtual World started back in 1985. This Virtual World was Lucasfilm's Habitat.
Habitat was not only the first true multi-user Virtual World, but also the first one that used 'avatars'.

Habitat was not something that ran on expensive hard- and software in a laboratory. No! This Virtual World could be entered with a normal Commodore 64 computer over normal commercial online services in America and Japan!
This was one of the things so special about Habitat, 'normal' people could use it!

This also made it possible to form a realistic community feeling in there.

Before Habitat there were already various MUD's and MOO's running on the Internet and BBS'ses. But these had a lack of realism, because they had no graphics at all and only a limited number of people with a lot of computer knowledge could enter these.

The original Habitat is no more. After 6 years of intensive use the world ended. The lead creators of Habitat, Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer, wrote an summary of their experiences in Habitat. This is available online under the name 'Lessons of LucasFilm's Habitat'. Farmer also published 'The Habitat Anecdotes', 'Social Dimensions of Habitat Citizenry' and 'Oracle Layza's Tales' online. I would recommend everyone to read these, since nowadays most history of the Virtual Worlds is based on Habitat.

Some Virtual Worlds, like Active Worlds are also based on the book 'Snowcrash'. Snowcrash was written by Neal Stephenson in 1988-1991. An important part of the book is about the Metaverse, a multi-user avatar world running over a fibre-optic cablenetwork and viewed upon with immersive goggles. The idea of theMetaverse was based on 'Neuromancer' by Gibson.

Active Worlds
3D universe based on Snow Crash

WorldsAway
Fujitsu's version of Habitat

Links:

Publications:

'Lessons of LucasFilm's Habitat'

'The Habitat Anecdotes'

'Social Dimensions of Habitat Citizenry'

'Oracle Layza's Tales'

Software:

Active Worlds

WorldsAway

Companies:

Electronic Communities

Fujitsu Software Business of America

Special Words:

Avatar, the persona that represents the user who controls it. You can see an avatar as a Virtual Puppet, with the user as puppeteer.

Virtual World, a digital representation of a environment. In this project we refer to Virtual Worlds as Multi-User Virtual Environments.

MUD's, Multi-User Dimensions or Multi-User Dungeons. These are text-based, non-graphical Virtual Worlds.

MOO's, Multi Object Orientated MUD's. These were MUD's that contains items, like swords and gold that can be used.