Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Create a new post on your blog with the above title. In your post, answer the following questions.

What are different ways these virtual worlds can be used? What are the pros and cons? Be specific. How do virtual worlds foster creativity? What do you think the future of virtual worlds will look like?

Cite at least 2 of the assigned readings.

For many, virtual worlds can be a pass to another life. It allows the user to experience and/or feel outcomes to actions that can't be taken in real life. Virtual worlds are widely used for video games today. Role playing video games have been around for quite some time but todays graphics have made it more realistic than ever. To take it up a notch, it is now embedded into a virtual world that doesn't just cycle the same levels repeatedly.

Instead, virtual games carry a continual variety of an ongoing actions based on mines of data from the real world. These actions don't stop when the user stops, they continue creating algorithms based on previous and current data collected. But do the actions of role playing as a hero or villain reflect onto the users actions in real life? There are cons to the pros of all this excitement. According to the News24(.com) article "Virtual world may impact real­world behavior," the answer is yes!

In a study of virtual video game players, those role playing a hero handed out twice as much rewarding items in real life afterwards where those playing a villain handed out twice as much punishments. Sound cliché? Perhaps you can try it. This was an article published 5 years ago, virtual worlds have more than doubles twice as much. In fact, the recent New Zealand mosque shooter is bringing video games into the forefront as a direct motivating factor of his actions.

Virtual worlds are also widely used in many other aspects. Diane Metha in her article "After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot?" states "You can use virtual worlds in education, in delivery services, or as an advanced form of tele healthcare that offers so much more than videoconferencing. Virtual worlds can give us social connectivity, built ­in support groups, and ways to avoid ever being alone again."

Possibly the most result driven use of virtual worlds can be seen in real life simulations to predict end user turnout. For example, virtualizing a business process model in a simulation can help determine what manpower/material would be needed to handle a certain amount of customers. Basic supply and demand. The most apparent fact of this process is that no two interactions are the same. Building a virtual world around this process with life like results irons out many issues which would be encountered without it. 

What stands out about this simulation is that it isn't just a two hour training. It isn't just an instructor teaching the ropes. Simulations can run through millions upon billions of varying cycles with in or out of a normal distribution which is ongoing as long as desired. The customer or employee can experience the process, give their feed back which is ultimately cycled back into the virtual world data which continues to seek improvements.

I believe the in depth future of virtual worlds is still years away. What I believe will be a game changer for virtual world technology is the Google glasses which were due to be out years ago. When that form of technology actually surfaces, it will link all actual life to virtual. We will soon be attached to the glasses as we are to our phones but it will be in our direct line of vision. The same way Americans are worlds apart from certain thirds world countries, we will be virtual worlds apart.