What an exciting age we live in! Although I am totally into nature and all things natural, the flip side of my nature has a passion for futuristic technology as well. I love to play video and online roleplaying games, and the Worlds of Virtual Reality totally fascinate me! That said, I would like to pass along some Virtual World News.
Virtual Worlds Expo, coming this September 3-4, 2008 in Los Angeles, is dedicated to helping businesses harness the power of virtual worlds to engage with their customers, partners and employees. Conference agenda will include consumer worlds, enterprise worlds, investment and strategy, education uses of virtual worlds, virtual law and visionary/future development. Stay tuned for more details.
As the World of Faerie is quite popular with young audiences (and old as well.. hehehe), I thought it may be interesting to share one of Disneys latest wonders from the world of Fantasy and Adventure.
Disney Online has created a studio to focus on its growing commitment to Virtual Worlds as well as games and online social communities. The new group, Disney Online Studios, will include several of Disney Online’s teams, including the creators of Disney.com XD and the company’s virtual-reality studio that was responsible for Disney’s Toontown Online and Pirates of the Caribbean Online.
Disney Online has recently announced a new online world, Pixie Hollow, based on Disney’s Fairies franchise, which is part of an effort to begin offering Virtual Worlds aimed at fans of specific Disney franchises.
Now this is something my daughter will be totally crazy about! One can create their own Fairy and play games of tag, solve puzzes, visit a secret world and much, much more! We can even download our choice of a fabulous screen saver to totally personalize our very own magical space… how cool is that! Create your very own fairy page for free and let the Magic begin. What are you waiting for? Fly on over and enrich your imagination in the amazingly beautiful and fairylicious World of Pixie Hollow. Suitable for all family members… do you believe?
When I was little I used to love to play store with my sister. We had our little cash register and play money… well, you know. Things have certainly changed, and I just love how fun it is to interact in a virtual way. Perhaps you too like this sort of thing and are up to an intellectual challenge. It is called Video Store Clerk.
The Game
You are the Video Store Clerk and must guess how real customers like certain movies.
Customers
In each turn a customer’s profile will appear on the computer screen, showing how they have rated past rentals.
Guess
Based on their past ratings, you must guess how that customer rated the feature film by selecting the number of stars.
Levels
Each level has 10 customers. If you guess seven customer ratings correctly, you move onto the next level.
The blue bar at the top of the screen displays how many correct answers you have gotten. Correct answers are worth more on each consecutive level.
Ratings
Remember, the ratings are based on real customers, so you are guessing at how each one of them actually rated their movies, not on your personal feelings about the film.
The Experiment
This game is part of an experiment to see if humans can be better problem solvers than computers. Your answers actually help the game get better results.
Well then, I am not finished, yet I am enjoying the game thus far. It is quite interesting to see how well I can guess an average rating, and I am doing really good. Are you up to the challenge? Try it out and have fun!
One of my most favourite pastimes is spending hours viewing the stars in the night sky. I am totally fascinated with wondering what is out there amongst the galaxies that comprise our Universe. So it is no small wonder that I find the Laser Cosmos to be one of the coolest gadgets I have come across!
Imagine lying in your room, and having the ceiling whipped away to reveal the vast outreaches of the cosmos whirling overhead, complete with misty blue nebulae (which you can turn on and off!) and the occasional shooting star. Fully adjustable and requiring no set up, this super powerful space projector scatters a random panoply of sparkling green stars that will fill any room from the tiniest bedroom to the largest warehouse with a crystal clear animated star display. What’s so clever about this (apart from everything of course) is that it seems so three-dimensional, the varying brightness of different stars makes some seem close and others to come from distant galaxies. Created from powerful green laser and holographic technology, a display this bright and clear has never been available before.
The Laser Cosmos has simply got to be one of the most amazing wonders to entertain with, or just relax under the stars no matter the weather or where you may be.
Features
* Romantic, mesmerising star and cloud projector.
* The Laser Cosmos will fill any room, no matter how big or small with a carpet of stars, blue clouds (optional), and even shooting stars.
* The Laser Cosmos itself is shaped like a funky 3D star.
* The Laser Cosmos can be pivoted to any angle.
* A Laser Stars projector lens.
* A cloud formation projector lens.
* A cloud brightness control.
* The projector is self-focussing.
* For best results use in total darkness.
* Use for no more than four hours at a time (the On/Off switch is helpful here).
* Suitable for ages 8 years+.
* Requires a mains adaptor (UK adaptor included).
* Size: 29 x 25 x 20cm.
Never touch the lens or try to adjust it!
Islands of War is a fantasy world divided by magic into islands, with ten playable races and many quests and adventures. There will be a housing system and air combat system (two races will have wings). Players will be able to own armored mounts. Two main factions wage war against each other setting the scene for PvP combat.
Shall we venture forth and follow the path that led to the creation of the two factions and the races in them? I am looking forward to learning the history of Talgania and what happened to the land that brought forth the islands that are here today. After the cataclysm it took many years for nature to repair the damage that was done. Now wildlife flourishes again on some islands and grass pastures can be found once more. New creatures have spawned from evolution, and the change in the environment, and now roam the different islands. Different climates can be found on islands that can range from hot tropical beaches to the cold icy mountain glaciers.
Truly Neojac Entertainment brings us another exciting adventure that can be found in the upcoming fantasy world known as Islands of War
I found this to be quite fascinating, thinking how very cool it would be to try this out, and wanted to share…
The CAVE is a surround-screen, surround-sound, projection-based virtual reality (VR) system. The illusion of immersion is created by projecting 3D computer graphics into a 10′x10′x9′ cube composed of display screens that completely surround the viewer. It is coupled with head and hand tracking systems to produce the correct stereo perspective and to isolate the position and orientation of a 3D input device. A sound system provides audio feedback. The viewer explores the virtual world by moving around inside the cube and grabbing objects with a three-button, wand-like device.
Unlike users of the video-arcade type of VR system, CAVE dwellers do not wear helmets to experience VR. Instead, they put on lightweight stereo glasses and walk around inside the CAVE as they interact with virtual objects.
Multiple viewers often share virtual experiences and easily carry on discussions inside the CAVE, enabling researchers to exchange discoveries and ideas. One user is the active viewer, controlling the stereo projection reference point, while the rest of the users are passive viewers.
The CAVE was designed from the beginning to be a useful tool for scientific visualization; EVL’s goal was to help scientists achieve discoveries faster, while matching the resolution, color and flicker-free qualities of high-end workstations. Most importantly, the CAVE can be coupled to remote data sources, supercomputers and scientific instruments via high-speed networks, a functionality that EVL, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and Argonne National Laboratory are jointly implementing.
For more information just visit The CAVE: A Virtual Reality Theater
