The obvious example that comes to mind is the 3D virtual world physics as a tool for
disseminating knowledge. For instance, I was looking up various model Porsche race cars
the other day on Wikipedia. No amount of text can truly describe the intangible
differences in control between driving a Porsche and a Ferrari. If one could go into a
virtual world and drive a virtual representation of one, we've filled a knowledge
gap.
Don't get hung up on the fact that this (used) to be a game, but rather view it as an
open source 3D virtual world environment that can scale to an extremely large number of
simultaneous users. It's a framework, which can be evolved over time -- that's
something we should at least be keeping an eye on and encouraging, while exploring what
ways we can integrate our content.
-Dan
On May 6, 2010, at 7:42 PM, Nathan wrote:
I think the MMOEnvironment (not really a role-playing
game in this
context, is it?) is an interesting forum for experimentation, but
non-game uses are still completely undeveloped. It's ripe for an
entrepreneur, but I'm not sure what the WMF could do with such an
environment. How would a vast knowledgebase be visually represented in
a navigable world? What advantages would that offer? Given the
comparatively high costs of maintaining this sort of effort, and the
unknown potential, I can't see the WMF moving into MMOEs soon. I'd be
interested to sign-up with any organization that makes the attempt,
though.
Nathan
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