We would like to offer a taste of what being there was like by showing some images from the worlds we explored. The course participants were a very heterogenous group of people. Physically people were located in Australia, North America and Europe. The only thing we had in common was a curiosity concerning virtual worlds.
Time zones are a constant hazzle for netizens.
The seminar started off with some virtual reality basics. At this stage we were dealing with the subject at hand strictly theoretically, using a web based message board for the discussions. When users gather in a virtual world they can communicate with one another as if they were in close proximity, though they may physically be far apart. Avatars themselves lend to the immersion factor through projecting a physical representation of the self into a virtual world where one can affect, and be affected by, others. We also got to try building in the public building world Mars , and ended our tour in a world especially built for Haloween.