Virtual Worlds
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Technology Map Detailed Contents August 2012
Importance of the Technology
The Technology in Brief
- A Brief Virtual-Worlds History
- Definition: Virtual Worlds
- Selected Consumer Virtual Worlds
- Second Life
- Club Penguin
- Avatar Kinect and PlayStation Home
- World of Warcraft
- NBA: King of the Court
- Virtual-Worlds Platforms
- MMOG Engines and Tools
- Software Components
- Distributed Architectures
- Programming Languages and Standards
- 3D Graphics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Speech Interfaces
- User Devices
- Infrastructure
Commercial Development Parameters
- Demand Factors
- General Constraints
- Synergistic Technologies
- Competing Technologies
- Required Resources
- Regulatory Factors
Areas to Monitor
- Conditions That Are Likely in All Future Scenarios
- Augmented Reality
- Virtual Goods
- Secure Virtual Worlds
- Generation Y
- High-Performance Networks and Devices
- Regulation and Governance of Virtual Worlds
- Virtual-Worlds-Provider Landscape
- Open-Source Virtual Worlds
- Interfaces to Enterprise Applications
- Conditions That Vary Greatly across Scenarios
- Ability to Reach Mainstream Users
- Interoperable Virtual Worlds
- Major Usability Improvements
- 3D Web
- Gamification
Implications of Commercialization
- A: The Google-Run World
- B: Virtual-Worlds Balkanization
- C: Mobile and Augmented Reality Virtual Worlds
- D: The 3D Web
- Further Consequences of Change
Opportunities
- Applications
- Games
- Social and Creative Virtual Worlds
- Commerce
- Marketing and Advertising
- Industrial Plant Simulation
- Collaborative Work
- Training and Education
- Military and Security Training and Planning
- Public Communication
- Business Models
- Consumer Subscriptions
- Enterprise Sales
- Advertising-Supported Virtual Worlds
- eBay Business Model
- Bundled-Service Business Model