What else can you do in a virtual world?

Chin Rey

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I hereby challenge you all to a ... BRAINSTORM!

What functions can a virtual world possibly have?

Think big or small, inside or outside the box. Something people already do? Let's hear it. Tried it before, didn't work? No problem. Brand new crazy ideas? That's great! Realism is not mandatory.
 
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Sid

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Customize your avatar with 5 different huds, two magic wants, a few secret spells and a lot of cursing?

Oh wait, that is already the story behind Second Life.
 

Veritable Quandry

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In The Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson there is a chapter that describes Castle Turing, a virtual space when the character solves a series of puzzles. These turn out to be a lesson in binary logic, using things like irrigation gates to teach the basics of how a computer works.
 

Chin Rey

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Oh wait, that is already the story behind Second Life.
Yes but that's fine. Old ideas are just as welcome as new ones here.

Customize your avatar with 5 different hud
I did a Google search for screenshots from the version 2 SL Viewer and it seems there has been and interesting development here. Backa few years ago people had to open lots and lots of popup windows to cover the scenery. Like this:




That must have been rather awkward since you'd have to reopen them every time you relog. Today people fill up their screen with HUDs instead and that's much more practical.
 
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Chin Rey

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In The Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson there is a chapter that describes Castle Turing, a virtual space when the character solves a series of puzzles. These turn out to be a lesson in binary logic, using things like irrigation gates to teach the basics of how a computer works.
There aren't many logic puzzles in SL. That's strange because it's something it should be very suitable for.
 

Brenda Archer

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I’ve found it to be very useful for meetings, all done with text rather than voice. For examples, I used to run a group for bi people with meetings and parties, and sometimes went to UU church in-world, which has been going strong for years. I can think of other examples.

Not everyone has the ability to go to meetings for their interests in RL so virtual worlds can fill a very important niche. Edit to add, a big reason for this can be that nothing is available locally. Years ago, it was possible to feel connected to something but have no access to it except through magazines and newsletters. A lot of the social activism and support groups that exist now simply weren’t possible then, at any kind of scale, outside major cities.
 
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Veritable Quandry

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There aren't many logic puzzles in SL. That's strange because it's something it should be very suitable for.
LL did a good job of running educators out of SL. Virtual worlds have great potential for educational use, and there are some stand alone virtual exhibits that are very good, but unfortunately it never reached it's full potential between the reputation for adult content and the elimination of the education discount for land.
 

Noodles

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There aren't many logic puzzles in SL. That's strange because it's something it should be very suitable for.
SL could be way more useful for lots of games, except the whole system is designed around the idea of "My avatar can't ever be forced to do something out of it's control."

There are ways around this with RLV or Experiences, but you also often have to use some HUD to keep track of any sort of stats.

I keep wanting to try to see if RLV can properly constrain the camera in such a way that would allow doe the creation of a 2D platform style game, within world. Like, your view would be locked to a side view.
 

Chin Rey

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SL could be way more useful for lots of games, except the whole system is designed around the idea of "My avatar can't ever be forced to do something out of it's control."
How about a new slogan for SL: "Second Life, The Virtual World for Control Freaks" :p

There are ways around this with RLV or Experiences, but you also often have to use some HUD to keep track of any sort of stats.
I think most games would require a HUD but usually that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I keep wanting to try to see if RLV can properly constrain the camera in such a way that would allow doe the creation of a 2D platform style game, within world. Like, your view would be locked to a side view.
I think something like that used to be a part of the OpenCollar script system actually but the llSetCameraParams() function is so dodgy.

Regardless of the problems restraining camera and movements, puzzles can still be used to open prize chests in treasure hunts. The Artifact Hunt does that although non of the puzzles are logic based unless you count 3x3 and 4x4 grid puzzles.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]
 
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Chin Rey

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Virtual worlds have great potential for educational use, and there are some stand alone virtual exhibits that are very good, but unfortunately it never reached it's full potential between the reputation for adult content and the elimination of the education discount for land.
I always feel a bit sad when I visit Bowness. The demos there are more than ten years old but they still show some of the possibilities SL offer for creating interactive learning experiences - posiblities never properly explored.

I think the core problem is that LL simply don't get education. It's evident in all the moon mistakes they make in their own tutorials and documentation. Torley did one thing very well, setting up a positive learning athmosphere, but those videos are the exceptions and even he hardly even made it much further than to base 1.
 
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8bit Biologist

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Short of eating and pooping (which could possibly be automated), everything. Work, education, entertainment, seeing a therapist, receiving a diagnosis from a doctor based on biosensors, talking to your insurance guy, read your digital books and type your memoirs, have conversations with your virtual cat, look at family pictures with grampa...everything.
 
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Noodles

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Just sort to expand on the games concept. Linden Lab makes a few using the Experiences system but they are sooooo basic and clunky. I mean, it may just be that SL is too clunky to make something super dynamic.

For example, I was doing one a while back at this dinosaur park and it was sort of interesting, but this one part had these jump puzzles in a tar pit and holy crap SL just doesn't work well for 3D action.
 
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Kalel

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I think most games would require a HUD but usually that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
I was admin of a combat sim. Tried implementing rlv to lock cams and help prevent cheating by people adding extra attchments. we got allot of backlash that it wasn't used in the end. the stigma was far to great...

sl exprience changed it a bit but it didn't match all of the needs and not used outside of basic teleportation.
 
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