DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds Week 12 Future of Virtual Worlds 6pm – 9pm Tuesday, October 16 th, 2007 Kathryn Merrick and Owen Macindoe DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Announcements  This lecture will begin with 15 minute demo in the Sentient  Level 2, through the glass door to the Key Centre, then first door on your left  Please join me downstairs DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Lecture Overview  Blurring the line between the virtual and the physical  Virtual worlds as platforms for advanced AI  Technological improvements and growth models for virtual worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Blurring the Line Between Physical and Virtual  Augmented reality  Augmented virtuality  Mixed reality  Alternate reality  Mirror worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Augmented Reality  Combination of the real world with computer generated data:  Current research concerned with use of live video imagery, which is processed and ‘augmented’ with computer generated graphics DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Augmented Reality: Tools and Techniques DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007 Head mounted display Square marker patterns Tangible pointer Kyoto Garden

Augmented Reality Applications DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007 Kyoto Garden AR Toolkit

Research Challenges with Augmented Reality  Problem of tracking the user’s viewpoint  Camera calibration  Speed for real time use  Use of obtrusive, worn hardware DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Mixed Reality  The merging of real world and virtual worlds to produce new environments where physical and digital objects can co-exist and interact in real time. DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007 Paul Milgram’s Virtuality Continuum

Mixed Reality: Human Pacman  Overlay of physical with virtual  Bluetooth used to give physical objects digital meaning DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007 Human pacman

Mixed Reality Research Challenges  Wearable hardware  Networking and communication  Real time function  Health and safety DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007 Wearable hardware for human pacman

Alternate Reality  Physical and virtual worlds are merged as an interactive narrative  Virtual world may be revealed through:  Internet, telephone, , mail  Not necessarily through computer graphics DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Alternate Reality Terms  Rabbitholes (trailheads): mark the entry to the alternate reality  Puppetmasters control virtual content while players interact with it  TINAG (this is not a game) DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Alternate Reality Research Issues  Can we create alternate reality games without human puppet masters?  Combination of alternate reality and mixed reality  Applications of alternate reality  Education, information literacy, advertising DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Alternate Reality Examples  The Beast (2001)  Promotion for A.I.: Artificial Intelligence  I Love Bees (2004)  Promotion for Halo 2 DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October

Virtual Worlds as Platforms for Advanced Artificial Intelligence  AI and virtual worlds are merging in two ways:  Virtual worlds as test-beds for AI  AI to enhance virtual worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

AI Enhancing Virtual Worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007  The promise of high quality AI is a major selling point for virtual worlds  Especially true for game worlds  AI makes the world dynamic  Changing worlds have greater ‘replay- ability’

AI Enhancing Virtual Worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007  Current AI techniques for virtual worlds are relatively simple:  Ensures predictability  Easy to implement  Virtual worlds are a complex application domain for AI research…

Complexity of Virtual Worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007  AIs must monitor large amounts of data and choose from many different actions  World can change while AI is thinking  Changes may be unpredictable due to  Open-endedness of virtual environment  The presence of humans

Virtual Worlds Enhancing AI DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007  Complex virtual worlds require research of new AI techniques Implementation complexity scripted behaviours cognitive agents swarm agents motivated agents Behavioural complexity learning agents

Motivated Agents for Dynamic Virtual Worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007  Motivated agents are one emerging research area for virtual worlds  The idea is to combine computational models of human motivation with artificial intelligence techniques  Interest, curiosity, competence motivation

Advantages of Motivated Agents DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007  Motivated agents find their own goals  If the world changes, motivated agents can change too by finding new goals  In complex worlds, motivated agents focus on a small number of goals  Motivated agents also have applications in other research fields

A Model of Motivation for Agents in Virtual Worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007  Agents monitor changes (events) in the world  Events with moderate novelty are highly motivating

Future Technical Directions  Virtual world technologies are driven by (and also drive) other computer technologies:  Graphics, chips, memory…  Servers, databases…  The increasing prevalence of virtual worlds is also influenced by social, cultural and economic values DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Have Virtual Worlds Reached A Tipping Point?  What further changes will promote growth?  Release of client code has already prompted improvements  Release of server code would also facilitate growth  BUT companies such as Linden would need to find new ways to make money from virtual worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Possible Growth Models for Virtual Worlds  Open source server code  Software licences for server code  APIs allowing other companies to build clones of virtual world software  Co-location facilities with hardware outsourced to other companies DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Summary  Virtual worlds are an exciting, emerging technology  We can expect to see:  Merging of the virtual and physical  Improvements in artificial intelligence  New technologies to support virtual worlds  New business models for virtual world providers  New applications of virtual worlds DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Today’s Tutorial  Preliminary critiques:  Spend 10 minutes demonstrating your design to another group  Discuss strengths, weaknesses and strategies for improvement  Work on Task 2 DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Next Week  Each group will give a 20 minute presentation  Presentation should include:  Slides describing plot, strengths, weaknesses (2 marks)  Demonstration of game-play sequences (3 marks) DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007

Next Week  Each group to hand in:  One report describing the game  One report describing the group process DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, October 2007