Active Worlds
Encyclopedia
Active Worlds is a 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

 virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...

 platform. The Active Worlds client runs on Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

. Users assign themselves a name, log into the Active Worlds universe
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...

, and explore 3D virtual worlds and environments that other users have built. Users can chat with one another or build structures and areas from a selection of objects. AW allows users to own worlds and universes, and develop 3D content. The browser has web browsing
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...

 capabilities, voice chat
Voice chat
Voice chat is a modern form of communication used on the Internet. The means of communicating with voice chat is through any of the messengers, mainly Skype, Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, inSpeak Communicator or Windows Live Messenger...

, and basic instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...

. This integrated software can allow users to connect, explore, and gain a more in depth understanding of AW. Corporate and educational clients of Active Worlds can make use of the interaction, communication, and media to provide functional environments suited for their objectives.

The program's original goal was to be the 3D-equivalent of a 2D web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...

 (such as Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...

 or Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...

). Instead of creating a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...

, the user could construct an office, building, or area in which to display products or information.

The necessity for 3D art within Active Worlds to enrich one's world has led to the development of a market place for 3D models, textures, avatars (and associated animation sequences), and more. There is also plenty of free exchange of 3D content. There are also custom design services for 3D art available, especially avatar
Avatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...

s.

History

In the summer of 1994, Ron Britvich created WebWorld, the first 2.5D
2.5D
2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is...

 world where tens of thousands could chat, build and travel. WebWorld operated on the Peregrine Systems Inc. servers as an after hours project until Britvich left the company to join Knowledge Adventure Worlds (KAW) in the fall of that year. In February 1995, KAW spun off their 3D Web division to form the company Worlds Inc. Britvich was eventually joined by several other developers, and the renamed AlphaWorld continued to develop as a skunk works project at Worlds Inc, internally competing with a similar project known internally as Gamma and publicly as Worlds Chat
Worlds chat
Worlds Chat was the very first three-dimensional avatar world to become widely available on the Internet, starting in April 1995. The virtual environment was depicted as a space station, through which wandered a range of avatars...

. While AlphaWorld was developing a strong cult following due in large part to Britvich's open philosophy of favoring user-built content, Worlds, Inc. favored Gamma for the company produced contract projects for Disney and others.

On June 28, 1995, AlphaWorld was renamed Active Worlds (from Active Worlds Explorer) and officially launched as version 1.0. Around this time, Circle of Fire (CoF) was formed to create content for the Active Worlds universe. This company played a pivotal role in the future of the product. In January, 1997, Worlds Inc., after failing to secure needed contracts and having spent its venture investment of over 15 million dollars, laid off almost the entire staff of the company, keeping only several employees which included the author of Gamma, now known as WorldsPlayer. Active Worlds, never considered much of an asset by the company, became an object of struggle for those close to it. Eventually, it ended up in the hands of CoF, with most of the development team joining CoF until (in July 1997) internal disagreements caused most of the team and employees, including Britvich, to leave the company.

On January 21, 1999, CoF did a reverse merger with Vanguard Enterprises, Inc., which changed the company's name to Activeworlds.com, Inc. and, later, Activeworlds, Inc. Some of the original developers like Roland Vilett and Shamus Young (although Shamus Young had been involved as first an artist, then webmaster, and now developer since CoF took over) stayed involved with Active Worlds and development on the product continued for years, as it continues to have a following. In 2001, the company launched a new product called 3D homepages. Each citizen account is entitled to one free 30 day trial of a virtual 10,000 square-meter 3D homepage, using their choice of layout from a selection of pre-designed styles. After the trial, the user has the option of upgrading to a larger size and user limit. These 3D Homepages are hosted for the user, unlike traditional worlds where the user would have to get their world hosted by another company or user, or themselves. Later, the 30 day free trial citizenship that came included with the 3D Homepage would be discarded.

In 2002, the company, in an attempt to financially survive and turn a profit, increased the price of their yearly citizenships from $19.95 USD to $69.95 USD. In September 2002, the company was sold back to its founders Richard Noll and JP McCormick and became a private company again. The company was renamed "Activeworlds, Inc." In January, 2006, Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...

's Stagecoach Island program was released, which used a pre-release version of the software. During that time, beta versions of Activeworlds 4.1 were available to registered citizens only. On May 30, 2006, Activeworlds, Inc. commenced the rollout of the 4.1 version. Active Worlds routers did not last for long due to the extreme amount of users downloading the new 4.1 browser and a large amount of users in the new 4.1 universe. 4.1 was closed for a short time, while Active Worlds upgraded their equipment. On May 31, 4.1 was reopened and the release began again. On June 1, 2006, Activeworlds, Inc. released the public world server version 4.1. While a normal amount of issues were reported for a massive software update, there are now over 700 worlds converted to 4.1. In late August 2006, a new product called Miuchiz
Miuchiz
Miuchiz is the name of a handheld game made by the privately owned toy manufacturer, MGA Entertainment, that launched in August 2006. The game sells for about twenty dollars at many major retailers....

 was launched using the Active Worlds technology. This is a virtual world where users can enter as a Bratz
Bratz
Bratz is an American line of fashion dolls and merchandise manufactured by MGA Entertainment. Four original 10" dolls were released in 2001 - Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin...

 or other character and interact with the world. In early 2008, Activeworlds, Inc. plans to release the first customer-oriented feature in years: the introduction of Customizable Avatars, similar to Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...

. The feature has been described as better than the competition's, with more options for easier customization. It will come in the next version of the browser, 4.2. On June 16, 2008, Activeworlds, Inc. released the first major update to the browser in two years, version 4.2. The update was considered smooth and painless, being completed in a matter of only fifteen minutes, compared to the several days of version 4.1's initial upgrade in 2006. Version 4.2 includes an enhanced graphics engine, captured web pages on objects, and, most notably, customizable avatars. On December 5, 2008, Activeworlds, Inc. renewed over 65,000 citizenships for a period of 30 days. In doing this, the company hopes to draw back some of the community that has been lost over the years. On June 24, 2009, Activeworlds, Inc., released an open beta of their next version, 5.0, for anyone to download and use. Currently Activeworlds is on operating version 5.1

Main Features

Building

Building allows users to create their own environment. For example, a user may search an open area or request an open plot of land and then construct the walls of the building with sets of wall objects in a variety of shapes. The user may then decide to add windows, doors, furniture, landscaping, etc. The user can alternatively build with primitive objects and manipulate them to fit to the building or environment. Active Worlds supports objects stored as RenderWare
RenderWare
RenderWare is a computer and video game middleware from British games developer Criterion Software.-Overview:RenderWare is a 3D API and graphics rendering engine used in video games, Active Worlds, and some VRML browsers...

 script RWX (and the RW3+ binary equivalent DFF) and trueSpace
TrueSpace
TrueSpace is a freeware 3D computer graphics and animation software developed by Caligari Corporation, bought-out by Microsoft. As of May 2009, it has been officially discontinued, but with some 'unofficial support' up to February 2010, at least.- History :The company was founded in 1985 by Roman...

 objects COB, as well as DirectX
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...

 X objects. The available objects are defined by the world owner using a directory of objects called an object path, accessible only by the person which owns the object path; it is not possible to upload custom objects to a public world. Builders must work with the available objects, or else purchase a private world.

Tourists, meaning those who have not bought a membership from ActiveWorlds, perhaps a guest; may build, but their builds are without any type of ownership and may be edited and deleted by anyone. No one is allowed to encroach on territory that has been claimed by another user if the world contains a registry, a file containing size data for various types of objects. Otherwise anyone can build on top of anyone else's property. (Claims are made by covering the desired area in objects, usually large ground cover objects.) Citizens who wish to build collaboratively can share their privilege passwords with one another. Entering another citizen's privilege password grants a citizen the right to modify their buildings. Any changes will be recorded in the name of the user whose privileges one is currently using.

Chat

Communications in AW traditionally involve being within 200 meters from other people in the area and chatting. Users will quickly learn the common areas to chat, such as the starting location ("ground zero") when first entering a world. Citizens may also communicate with telegrams, which contact the user in any location. Telegrams are private (except to the universe administrator), and it is possible to send private messages to nearby users. All other chat is public. The 200 meter chat range can become a problem within large worlds and projects that span a larger area than 200 meters. To tackle this problem, bots (see below) can be programmed to broadcast chat to everyone in the current world. Currently some of the most common worlds, such as Alphaworld, has also a global chat, where users can communicate with each others anywhere on that world.

Worlds

ActiveWorlds is divided into "worlds", contained environments for multiple users to communicate and, in some worlds, build in. Worlds in ActiveWorlds are either owned by ActiveWorlds itself or individual citizens, worlds can be purchased from ActiveWorld's website. Worlds are constrained by their size, the size of the world being the amount of build-able land before you reach an invisible boundary where objects may not pass outside of.

World owners maintain a list of rights, which assign certain permissions to users within the world. These lists contain all citizen numbers assigned that permission, or a '*' wildcard to indicate all users, including tourists, have that right. Users utilize a "worlds list", that lists all worlds within ActiveWorlds itself, clicking on a world in the list will teleport the user to the ground-zero of said world. The main ActiveWorlds universe has around 800 worlds as of April 2008. Though this is misleading as some worlds are extremely large and hold many communities and a sort of sub-worlds, other worlds are private and not always shown in the worlds list and many more seem to be un-used.

The largest world in the main ActiveWorlds universe is Alphaworld, which is also the first world. Alphaworld contains several more square kilometers of available space than the real-world state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in the United States of America. To aid in navigating such a vast area you can teleport to a specified location, and users can maintain a teleport list, which could be compared to a browser's favorites list.

Universes

As with worlds, users can purchase their own private "universe", which may be a single stand-alone world, or a contained environment of multiple worlds, much like ActiveWorlds itself. Users must contact ActiveWorlds directly to purchase a universe. In addition, universes are limited by their total land mass and maximum simultaneous users online at one time, which is the total of landmass that each size of the world adds up to. As the ActiveWorlds platform evolves, universe owners must purchase universe server upgrades directly from ActiveWorlds, which is 40% of the universe purchase price after the first year of owning the universe.

Bots and software development kit

Bots are applications developed using the Active Worlds SDK
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...

. Some of these applications have been developed to allow users to automate simple tasks, such as weather, chat relay, giving tours and information, complex property management, and more. Games can be developed which interact with databases and other technologies to provide a basic, but extensible gaming platform. There are many other potential applications that can be developed using the SDK, for example, a program that automatically explores a world and creates a map, artificial intelligence through chat, and much more.

Competitors

Active Worlds has several competitors, including Smallworlds
Smallworlds
SmallWorlds is a virtual world. It has over 6,000,000 registered users. It is commonly also known as 'SW'. The website is owned and operated by Outsmart 2005 Ltd, a privately owned company based in Auckland, New Zealand. The virtual world runs inside a web browser, without the need to download or...

, Entropia Universe
Entropia Universe
Entropia Universe is a massively multiplayer online virtual universe designed by the Swedish software company MindArk, based in Gothenburg. Entropia uses a micropayment business model, in which players may buy in-game currency with real money that can be redeemed back into real world funds at a...

, IMVU
IMVU
IMVU, Inc. is an online social entertainment destination in which members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat, create, and play games created by Fydor Guthenschlag. IMVU has over 50 million registered users, 10 million unique visitors per month and three million monthly active users...

, Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...

, Kaneva
Kaneva
Kaneva, LLC is a privately owned Atlanta-based company founded in 2004 by Christopher Klaus and Greg Frame. Kaneva is a 3D Virtual World that supports 2D web browsing, social networking and shared media....

 and Twinity
Twinity
Twinity is the first 3D online virtual world to build true-to-scale replicas of large cities from all over the world. Twinity is developed by Metaversum GmbH, a company based in Berlin, Germany. It offers its population, called Twinizens, to navigate around virtual versions of real-world cities,...

.

See also

  • Croquet project
    Croquet Project
    The Croquet Project was an international effort to promote the continued development of the Croquet open source software development kit for creating and delivering deeply collaborative multi-user online applications....

  • Smeet
    Smeet
    Smeet is a free browser based 3D social game, developed by Smeet Communications GmbH based in Berlin, Germany. The company was founded in 2007 and is managed by Sebastian Funke , Daniel Bülhoff and Reinhard Köhn . Smeet creates virtual worlds in which people can meet and interact with their avatars...

  • Virtual World of Kaneva
  • Metaverse
    Metaverse
    The Metaverse is our collective online shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet...

  • Renderware
    RenderWare
    RenderWare is a computer and video game middleware from British games developer Criterion Software.-Overview:RenderWare is a 3D API and graphics rendering engine used in video games, Active Worlds, and some VRML browsers...

     - Active Worlds rendering engine
  • Second Life
    Second Life
    Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...

  • Simulated reality
    Simulated reality
    Simulated reality is the proposition that reality could be simulated—perhaps by computer simulation—to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds which may or may not be fully aware that they are living inside a simulation....

  • Snow Crash
    Snow Crash
    Snow Crash is Neal Stephenson's third novel, published in 1992. Like many of Stephenson's other novels it covers history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography, memetics, and philosophy....

    - a novel by Neal Stephenson
    Neal Stephenson
    Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...

     which inspired Active Worlds
  • There
    There (internet service)
    There is a 3D online virtual world created by Will Harvey and Jeffrey Ventrella. There Inc. was founded in the spring of 1998. Closed beta began in July 2001, with various stages of beta following, and ending with an October 2003 launch date...

  • The Thirteenth Floor
    The Thirteenth Floor
    The Thirteenth Floor is a 1999 science fiction film directed by Josef Rusnak and loosely based upon Simulacron-3 , a novel by Daniel F. Galouye...

    A movie that, at one point, had a simulated environment game within Active Worlds.
  • Virtual Object System
    Virtual Object System
    The Virtual Object System is a computer software technology for creating distributed object systems. The sites hosting Vobjects are typically linked by a computer network, such as a local area network or the Internet...

  • WorldsAway
    WorldsAway
    WorldsAway is an online graphical "virtual chat" environment in which users designed their own two dimensionally represented avatars. It was one of the first visual virtual worlds. In 1996 it was one of the top 20 most popular forums on Compuserve.- History :...

     - Active Worlds precursor

Universes

  • Dotsoul
    Dotsoul
    Dotsoul was an immersive 3D Virtual Reality MMORPG based on the Active Worlds application which ran from Dec 2005-2008 and was created by Joseph Bergeron and Laura Herrmann...

  • Quest Atlantis
    Quest Atlantis
    Quest Atlantis is a 3D multiuser, computer graphics learning environment that utilizes a narrative programming toolkit to immerse children, ages 9–15, in meaningful inquiry tasks . Quest Atlantis combines strategies used in the commercial gaming environment with lessons from educational research...

     - a virtual learning environment
  • Miuchiz
    Miuchiz
    Miuchiz is the name of a handheld game made by the privately owned toy manufacturer, MGA Entertainment, that launched in August 2006. The game sells for about twenty dollars at many major retailers....

    - The On-line Virtual Pet

Sources

  • Britvitch, Ron. "Message Board Posting, June 14, 1994." Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  • Hansen, Kenneth. "The Design of Public Space in 3D Virtual Worlds on the Internet." Virtual Space: Spatiality in Virtual Inhabited 3d Worlds. Lars Qvortrup, ed. London: Springer-Verlag, 2002.
  • Noll, Rick. "Price Plan Letter". Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  • Scannell, Beth. Life on the Border: Cyberspace and the Frontier in Historical Perspective. Online edition. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
  • Stanney, Kay. Handbook of Virtual Environments: Design, Implementation, and Applications. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2002.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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