Storytelling in Simulations
February 9th, 2010
For those of you that are familiar with Visual Purple’s work you are probably well aware that we are very passionate about the power of story in relation to our simulations (whether they are embedded or virtual world based). We are hard-wired to relate to characters and story. Think about it: What draws you into a movie, simulation, or even a virtual world? ENGAGEMENT is key through the narrative. The narrative is able to drive the player through an entire sequence of events (for you hardcore instructional design types, story really does answer the mail on sequencing) that engages and aids the learner in retaining the materials covered. The storyline also allows the player character a way to become fully immersed in the simulation and also offers a way for the simulation path to branch into a variety of different scenarios based upon the player’s actions or inactions.
You find storytelling in everyday aspects of your life from posting and reading tweets on Twitter to talking on the phone – storytelling is all a part of what we do. Whether in relation to work or on a personal note; storytelling is weaved into our everyday lives…it IS our life! Every person has a story and every simulation has a story, each storyline is unique to the character (whether real or an avatar). By creating a storyline for a simulation to follow, the trainee is better able to interact, be immersed and learn and retain to very high levels. The use of storytelling in the form of simulation is key to immersing the trainee/ learner to train up.
Speaking of Virtual Worlds…(Week of February 1-5)
February 6th, 2010
A weekly wrap-up on what’s going on within the Virtual World sphere and beyond! Click on any of the below titles to read the full story.
Should You Stake Your Claim in a Virtual World?
Quick Stat: U.S. Virtual Goods Market To Hit $1.6B in 2010
Why So Many Organizations Struggle for Success in Virtual Worlds
ITEC Speaker Announcement
February 3rd, 2010
The ITEC Conference held May 18-20th, 2010 in London is Europe’s largest and most established Defense Training and Simulation Conference and Exhibition. ITEC 2010 provides expert insight into the opportunities and challenges driving developments in the Defense Training, Education and Simulation industry, along with hands-on experience of new and proven solutions from world leading defense companies and smaller specialist suppliers. The UK is second to the US in terms of defense training spending and is ideal to play host to Europe’s annual defense training, education and simulation event.
On May 18th, 2010 Ed Heinbockel, President and CEO of Visual Purple will be presenting a session entitled “Embedded Training: Overcoming Challenges to Train the United States Military.” Covered within the session will be the drivers that created and influenced the identification of the need for embedded training and the process employed to produce the simulations. Not for the faint of heart, the harsh realities of a nine month production cycle will be shared along with anecdotes and lessons-learned from both production and client perspectives to include cultural and technical challenges.
Where has all the Virtual World Buzz Gone?
February 1st, 2010
Sure there are a number of stories that hit the media sphere each week regarding virtual worlds, but admittedly some of the buzz around virtual worlds has faded into the background lately. While more virtual world development is being created, the most noise around the virtual worlds sector lately seems to be Metaplace shutting down, real identity names being utilized in Second Life and all of the market predictions for the new year. Many virtual world evangelists are venturing down a new path in naming conventions for virtual worlds such as: immersive 3D, 3D virtual worlds, virtual immersive environments (VIEs), virtual learning/ training environment, enterprise immersive software, collaborative environments, and the list goes on… Could this perhaps be a sign of where the virtual world buzz has gone? More specifically more press is given to virtual worlds targeted at kids/ teens/ tweens rather than the enterprise targeted vw’s. The virtual world universe is quite diverse and I see many more virtual world applications to come in the near future all targeting a variety of user demographics. Although the barriers continue to fall…the broad picture of virtual worlds remain while within this structure change is taking place. Should we still call virtual worlds an emerging technology, or rather switch it to a technology that is here to stay?
Virtual Worlds to go Mobile?
January 25th, 2010
If we look at mobile devices as the future of the Internet- should virtual worlds migrate this way as well? While we have a hard enough time getting virtual worlds to play nice in a browser is mobile playability of virtual worlds a viable goal? Obviously the biggest hurdle here is the memory-hogging graphics that are directly related to the challenges of running virtual worlds in a browser. Thus most virtual worlds have a hefty size download of a specific application and then more time to load the virtual world itself with chunky graphics and the like. For the most part PC-oriented virtual worlds are widely accepted by users, with Second Life being the more publicized virtual world.
iPhones and iPhone wannabes are hot! With just about every application imaginable available for download. While I will admit I used to be a Blackberry addict when they were first introduced I have since become an anti-cell phone kind of gal (yes, it really is possible). Sure they are nice to have for convenience but I have found them as not being a necessary fixture in my broadband-enabled daily routine. But that’s just me.
Mobile social gaming is getting lots of visiblity these days. Some deployment considerations are UI (user interface) and overall user experience, dedicated application or browser (although browser based virtual worlds are not fully baked just yet). A few virtual worlds have attempted to go mobile, however for the most part these worlds offer low fidelity graphics (big surprise!) and are more of a social type of game than an actual serious virtual world application. Last year Sulake launched the Bobba Bar mobile virtual world while the app. was primarily built for the iPhone it offers the user a chance to interact and receive free ‘virtual’ drinks. Perhaps the bigger lure here of mobile virtual worlds is offering the anytime, anyplace availability…we are mobile society, at least most of you are!
Speaking of Virtual Worlds… (Week of January 18-22)
January 22nd, 2010
A weekly wrap-up on what’s going on within the Virtual World sphere and beyond! Click on any of the below titles to read the full story.
2009 End of Year Second Life Economy Wrap up (including Q4 Economy in Detail)
That’s not the Second Life economy!
The benefits of a virtual world
Research: $1.38 Billion Invested in 87 Virtual Goods-Related Companies Worldwide in 2009
Virtual Worlds & Training…Do They Mix with Social Media?
January 21st, 2010
Social media seems to be all the rage right now. Is it really possible to infuse social media into a virtual world space? Would it be beneficial or detrimental? I guess it would all depend upon the context- many virtual worlds already encompass social media aspects, whereas serious virtual worlds may not be the ideal training ground to implement social media into the mix. Can virtual worlds really compliment social media? Well that is still up for debate. I believe it all boils down to context. Majority of companies would loathe for their employees to login to a virtual world for training and then rather than training up, pass the time away by updating their Facebook status. “Supposed to be training but thought I would update everyone on my life’s happenings instead. Chris is doing well and the children are growing up sooo fast…” Communication and collaboration are all nice things to have within a virtual world space, but they certainly are not a necessary piece of the puzzle when utilizing a virtual world for training/ learning….or, are they?
Sure a handful of social ‘virtual’ worlds exist currently, such as Vivaty and Habbo Hotel as just a few examples. Rumor has it that the former is still searching for a viable business plan…if it were easy, everyone would be doing it, right?! Incorporating social media into training has been talked about for some time- but would it actually be useful or seen as disruptive to the learner/ trainee. Is there a misconception about virtual worlds, that they are already a social networking opportunity? Although collaboration is brought up quite often in virtual worlds, bringing your live Twitter or Facebook stream into the virtual world training environment could lead to more distraction than anything else. While many companies are enacting social media policies across the board for employees, some are encouraging their employees to utilize social media outlets while on the clock (hey, free marketing, well almost). Sure the real-time experience is cool, but is it really worth the inherent risk of a company’s reputation being tainted without having big brother watching what is coming through the social media channels?
I believe the potential is there, it just has thus far been untapped. 3D virtual social networks may be on the horizon, but only time will tell as to their success. Sure, real time interaction is cool and all but it can also be seen as a distraction when applied to specific training/ learning environments. So let’s keep social virtual worlds in a different category for now…
Has Everything Gone Social?
January 19th, 2010
So here is your social media primer, short and sweet. It seems like everything has gone social! From social media and networking to social learning, the entire world has become more social! I run across write-ups and advice daily on how to become more immersed in social media (i.e. tweet more, gain more followers, sign up for more social networking sites, etc.). But can this all be worth it, or is it all just a passing fad? Fad I think not, my belief is that social media is here to stay. However I do see changes within the social media sphere, currently it seems like there is every possible Twitter application out there- most will fade and the bigger players (i.e. Tweetdeck, Seesmic) will remain.
This addictive social and immersive media offers a little something for everyone. Everything from national brand names to small Mom and Pop businesses are jumping on the social media bandwagon. For the most part, social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter are growing in user base and daily use. Yet you also see some conflicting stats (especially for Twitter) that show some never log back in once signing up for the service. Sure social media can be foreseen as an over-hyped topic, but it is here to stay!
Look for Part 2 of this post: Virtual Worlds…Do They Mix with Social Media?
Speaking of Virtual Worlds… (Week of January 11-15)
January 16th, 2010
A weekly wrap-up on what’s going on within the Virtual World sphere and beyond! Click on any of the below titles to read the full story.
Farmers Market Moves from Second Life to Open Web
Visual Purple’s Top 10 Blog Posts from 2009
January 13th, 2010
Almost as exciting as David Letterman’s Top 10 list- here is a list of the top 10 blog posts of 2009 from Visual Purple’s Virtual Speak blog.
Navigation in Virtual Worlds: From Simple to Complex
Chat Bots 101: Artificial Intelligence Optional
Promise and Perils of Virtual Worlds 1
Promise and Perils of Virtual Worlds 2
Emulating Human Voiceovers With TTS Voices
Virtual World Cost Analysis- Diving In
Virtual Worlds: The Emperor has no Clothes!
Virtual Worlds for Enterprise and Corporate Use