We are thrilled to announce that our second keynote speaker, Mr. Ron Meiners, has been confirmed!
Ron has worked on a wide range of online community applications, from casual games to virtual worlds, including Myst IV: Revelation and Myst Online: Uru Live, and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory for Ubisoft, as well as the free online gaming community Mplayer.com.
He is passionate about the potential for online communities to foster relationships between participants and to open the range of experiences to collaborative creativity, transformative experiences, and the evolution of social organization, as illustrated in his position as the volunteer Online Community Advocate for the Burning Man organization.
He is committed to the exploration of new forms of interaction and collaboration online, and the evolving relationship between consumer communities and host brands. His recent projects include Multiverse.net (platform for independent MMOG creation), Dogster.com (community of passion for pet owners), and MyHollywood.com (casual game and social networking site with an entertainment theme).
Much of his talk, and the activities following, will focus on the need for ongoing community engagement and support - whether the goal for your world is to facilitate team-building exercises, or to excite and enhance the experience of players in a for-profit game universe. An elemental part of the process, the maintenance of person-to-person connections is the oft-overlooked and single most defining component of virtual world development. Ron will offer his experience and expertise as a model for the best practices in this area!
July 13, 2009
July 9, 2009
July 7, 2009
Our friends in Smaller Indiana
Speaking with Pat Coyle the other day, two things were abundantly clear:
1) There's a lot more going on in Indiana than we think, and
2) Virtual communities can bring people together in a way that old school handshake networks can't. It's not just about who you know, it's also about where you are!
By bringing Hoosiers together virtually at Smaller Indiana, Pat has created a mobile, networked online gathering of expertise, resources, and ideas. And it's working!
In addition to serving as a launchpad for locally grown business and recreational activities, Smaller Indiana presents a multidimensional public face for those of us in Indiana that feel connected well beyond the borders of our state.
We've created our very own group - Virtual Worlds, Alternate Realities & Games - so that we can bring this discussion to a group of people with a wide variety of perspectives and interests.
We hope that the momentum from the Workshop will develop into something much bigger in the scope of ideas and applications...
Stay tuned!
1) There's a lot more going on in Indiana than we think, and
2) Virtual communities can bring people together in a way that old school handshake networks can't. It's not just about who you know, it's also about where you are!
By bringing Hoosiers together virtually at Smaller Indiana, Pat has created a mobile, networked online gathering of expertise, resources, and ideas. And it's working!
In addition to serving as a launchpad for locally grown business and recreational activities, Smaller Indiana presents a multidimensional public face for those of us in Indiana that feel connected well beyond the borders of our state.
We've created our very own group - Virtual Worlds, Alternate Realities & Games - so that we can bring this discussion to a group of people with a wide variety of perspectives and interests.
We hope that the momentum from the Workshop will develop into something much bigger in the scope of ideas and applications...
Stay tuned!
July 2, 2009
Introducing the Board of Advisors
Bringing together heavy-hitters in the design and study of virtual worlds is no small feat!
In addition to Rich Vogel, we are thrilled to announce the involvement of the other members of our Board of Advisors:
Dr. Richard Bartle, whose resume reflects his well-known wit, is alphabetically first on our list. And what a way to start the line-up! Dr. Bartle is credited with developing the technology of virtual worlds from its humble beginnings as MUDs. We can't really say anything in better humor than does the man himself (though we have bragged about him a little more).
Raph Koster, game designer extraordinaire and man-about-Metaplace, is up next. What to say but that Raph is the hardest human being to get hold of because he is seemingly everywhere at once. Fortunately, virtual space doesn't GO anywhere! His bio is brief but out of the park.
The heart of the batter's box is occupied by partners in crime, or, we should say authorship, Dr. J. Leighton Reed and Dr. Byron Reeves. Listing their collective accomplishments is a task for more ambitious souls, but needless to say, they are individually impressive and collaboratively authoritative. In addition to being a medical doctor, Leighton is a businessman and venture capitalist. And, in addition to being a philosophical doctor, Byron's list of leadership positions spans almost any communications-related venture ever begun at Stanford. Together, they're going to tell us how the future will work!
Rounding out the line-up are two of the most influential game designers in the business: Rich Vogel and his co-studio director at BioWare Austin, Mr. Gordon Walton. We could say a lot about their careers, but why bother. You'll learn a lot more by playing! (But if you do need a text version, there is a succinct version of Gordon's bio, and we've pretty much worn Rich out by now - and he hasn't even shown up for the keynote yet!)
In addition to Rich Vogel, we are thrilled to announce the involvement of the other members of our Board of Advisors:
Dr. Richard Bartle, whose resume reflects his well-known wit, is alphabetically first on our list. And what a way to start the line-up! Dr. Bartle is credited with developing the technology of virtual worlds from its humble beginnings as MUDs. We can't really say anything in better humor than does the man himself (though we have bragged about him a little more).
Raph Koster, game designer extraordinaire and man-about-Metaplace, is up next. What to say but that Raph is the hardest human being to get hold of because he is seemingly everywhere at once. Fortunately, virtual space doesn't GO anywhere! His bio is brief but out of the park.
The heart of the batter's box is occupied by partners in crime, or, we should say authorship, Dr. J. Leighton Reed and Dr. Byron Reeves. Listing their collective accomplishments is a task for more ambitious souls, but needless to say, they are individually impressive and collaboratively authoritative. In addition to being a medical doctor, Leighton is a businessman and venture capitalist. And, in addition to being a philosophical doctor, Byron's list of leadership positions spans almost any communications-related venture ever begun at Stanford. Together, they're going to tell us how the future will work!
Rounding out the line-up are two of the most influential game designers in the business: Rich Vogel and his co-studio director at BioWare Austin, Mr. Gordon Walton. We could say a lot about their careers, but why bother. You'll learn a lot more by playing! (But if you do need a text version, there is a succinct version of Gordon's bio, and we've pretty much worn Rich out by now - and he hasn't even shown up for the keynote yet!)
July 1, 2009
Rich Vogel keynote confirmed!
We’re proud to announce that Rich Vogel, co-Studio Director (along with Gordon Walton, also on our Board of Advisors) at BioWare Austin, will be kicking off the workshop on August 3rd with a keynote speech focusing on the scope of virtual world production.
Mr. Vogel has been influential in the game development community for 18 years and counting. Before founding the mega-hit producing Austin Studio with Sony Online Entertainment, he was instrumental in developing a number of online games, including: Meridian 59, Ultima Online, and the first two iterations of Star Wars Galaxies in 2003 and 2004.
His experienced perspective and commercial success will provide participants with a unique look into the complexities of virtual world creation, community-building and commercialization - relevant even for those aiming at a purely academic context.
[For more information on Rich, take a look at his impressive resume on the Board of Advisors page on the VW2 website.]
Mr. Vogel has been influential in the game development community for 18 years and counting. Before founding the mega-hit producing Austin Studio with Sony Online Entertainment, he was instrumental in developing a number of online games, including: Meridian 59, Ultima Online, and the first two iterations of Star Wars Galaxies in 2003 and 2004.
His experienced perspective and commercial success will provide participants with a unique look into the complexities of virtual world creation, community-building and commercialization - relevant even for those aiming at a purely academic context.
[For more information on Rich, take a look at his impressive resume on the Board of Advisors page on the VW2 website.]
Wells House confirmed
We are thrilled to confirm that the Virtual Worlds Workshop (VW2) will be taking place at the Herman B Wells House just north of the main campus of Indiana University, Bloomington.
The Wells House, in addition to being a beautiful and well-appointed home, inherits the energy and intentions of Herman Wells himself.
The house, which served Herman B Wells during his tenure as University president-from 1938 to 1962-creates an elegant and intimate setting for the Workshop’s intensive learning experience. Wells' belief in, and love for lifelong learning and the importance of a beautiful and tranquil setting for study are part of the legacy which will provide a productive and exploratory environment for the week's activities.
Wells was one of the most recognizable and celebrated presidents in the University's development, supporting the controversial work of Alfred Kinsey's Institute for Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, tripling the size of the student body, recruiting international-caliber academics in many fields, and envisioning the expansion of the University to include the IU Auditorium, Assembly Hall, and the I.M. Pei-designed IU Art Museum among many other achievements.
Wells' vision for a world in which curiosity and collaboration prosper serves us well as we work towards realizing-through virtual world technologies-a future which he could only imagine.
[For more on the Wells House, please visit the VW2 website.]
The Wells House, in addition to being a beautiful and well-appointed home, inherits the energy and intentions of Herman Wells himself.
The house, which served Herman B Wells during his tenure as University president-from 1938 to 1962-creates an elegant and intimate setting for the Workshop’s intensive learning experience. Wells' belief in, and love for lifelong learning and the importance of a beautiful and tranquil setting for study are part of the legacy which will provide a productive and exploratory environment for the week's activities.
Wells was one of the most recognizable and celebrated presidents in the University's development, supporting the controversial work of Alfred Kinsey's Institute for Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, tripling the size of the student body, recruiting international-caliber academics in many fields, and envisioning the expansion of the University to include the IU Auditorium, Assembly Hall, and the I.M. Pei-designed IU Art Museum among many other achievements.
Wells' vision for a world in which curiosity and collaboration prosper serves us well as we work towards realizing-through virtual world technologies-a future which he could only imagine.
[For more on the Wells House, please visit the VW2 website.]
June 30, 2009
Welcome to the Virtual Worlds Workshop blog!
We're happy to announce the creation of our very own blog, where you will find the latest news and information pertaining to the Virtual Worlds Workshop.
We also keep a lively Facebook page, which you can find here.
You'll likely notice some changes as we experiment with the aesthetics a bit...
We also keep a lively Facebook page, which you can find here.
You'll likely notice some changes as we experiment with the aesthetics a bit...
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