Extending Virtual Worlds Advanced Design for Virtual Environments

Written as the successor to Virtual World Design: Creating Immersive Virtual Environments, this book carries the ideas brought forward in its predecessor to new levels of virtual world design exploration and experimentation. Written by an Emmy award-winning designer with 22 years of experience creating virtual environments for television and online communities, Extending Virtual Worlds: Advanced Design for Virtual Environments explores advanced topics such as multi-regional design, game-based sims, and narrative structure for environments.
The book provides bedrock knowledge and practical examples of how to leverage design concepts within the intertwined structures of physics engines, level of detail (LOD) systems, and advanced material editors. It also shows designers new ways to influence the experience of virtual world visitors through immersive narrative and storytelling. With over 150 illustrations and 10 step-by-step projects that include the necessary 3D models and modular components, it delivers hours of stimulating creative challenges for people working in public virtual worlds or on private grids.
By using this book, novices and advanced users will deepen their understanding of game design and how it can be applied to creating game-based virtual environments. It also serves as a foundational text for class work in distance learning, simulation, and other learning technologies that use virtual environments.

Concepts in Advanced Design for Game-Based Virtual Environments. About the Viewers and Content Created for This Book. The Vizome, Developing Creativity, and Virtual Environmental Design. Planning and Prototyping the Design of a Game-Based Virtual Environment. Designing for Social Interaction in Virtual Spaces. Developing the Designer–Scripter Collaboration. Designing with Level of Detail (LOD). Designing with Virtual Physics in Mind. Landscape and Terrain Design in Virtual Environments. Design Considerations and Mesh Usage in Virtual Environments. Designing with Advanced Materials and Animated Graphic/Textures. World Building and Design with Procedural Techniques. Designing Virtual Environments for Head-Mounted Displays. The Multiple Dimensions of Game-Based Virtual Environments. Appendices. Glossary. Important Links and Resources. Bibliography. Index.