[MUD-Dev] NEWS: Why Virtual Worlds are Designed By Newbies -No, Really! (By R. Bartle)

[Richard A. Bartle]

On 18th November 2004, Ola Fosheim Grostad wrote:

> I am saying that one shouldn't redefine the term "virtual world"
> at one's own whim, thus making it meaningless. A virtual world has
> to be... a world, not just a sports arena.

There's a TV programme in the UK called "World of Sports".  They
seem quite happy to restrict themselves to sports arenas.  why
should being virtual make any difference to what counts as a
"world"?

> Besides, those systems you mention are virtual worlds (more or
> less), but there are definitevely systems that are less world and
> more game, i.e. pure multi-user games, multi-user environments,
> multi-user entertainment etc.

OK, so let's try this again...

What would YOU use as an umbrella term?

The main threat to the term "virtual world" is that it's used
elsewhere. For example, AI researchers use it to mean a
computer-mediated environment they have constructed for their AI
agents/actors. I don't see that it's going to stand the test of time
as a permanent umbrella term for what it is we study, because it's
too general.  That said, it's one we can all use at the moment
(unlike the superior term MUD, which is too misunderstood by the
majority of players if not developers).

If you don't want to use "virtual worlds", come up with some
alternative.

Richard
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