Virtual World Design

Virtual World Design

by Ann Latham Cudworth
Released July 2014
Publisher(s): A K Peters/CRC Press
ISBN: 9781466579668

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Book description

Learn How to Create Immersive Virtual Environments

Written by an award-winning designer with 20 years of experience designing virtual environments for television and online communities, Virtual World Design explores the intertwining disciplines of 2D graphics, 3D models, lighting, sound, and storytelling. It illustrates how these disciplines come together by design in the creation of an accessible virtual environment for teaching, research, and entertainment. The book gives anyone the tools and techniques to design virtual environments that support their message and are accessible by all.

With 200 illustrations and 12 step-by-step projects, the book delivers hours of creative challenges for people working in public virtual worlds or on private grids. Using the modular components available for download on the author’s website, readers learn by building such things as a virtual classroom, an "all-access" terrain, and a sound-based game.

This book can be the foundation for class work in distance learning, simulation, and other learning technologies that use virtual environments. It shows both novices and advanced users how 3D composition, color, lighting, and sound design are used in the creation of an immersive virtual environment.

Table of contents

  1. Front Cover (1/2)
  2. Front Cover (2/2)
  3. Contents (1/3)
  4. Contents (2/3)
  5. Contents (3/3)
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. About the Author
  9. About the Contributors
  10. Chapter 1: Introduction to Virtual Worlds and Designing for Them (1/3)
  11. Chapter 1: Introduction to Virtual Worlds and Designing for Them (2/3)
  12. Chapter 1: Introduction to Virtual Worlds and Designing for Them (3/3)
  13. Chapter 2: How to Use This Book and Start Doing Virtual World Design (1/2)
  14. Chapter 2: How to Use This Book and Start Doing Virtual World Design (2/2)
  15. Chapter 3: “Build It Once” : Optimizing Your Design Workflow (1/4)
  16. Chapter 3: “Build It Once” : Optimizing Your Design Workflow (2/4)
  17. Chapter 3: “Build It Once” : Optimizing Your Design Workflow (3/4)
  18. Chapter 3: “Build It Once” : Optimizing Your Design Workflow (4/4)
  19. Chapter 4: Concepts in 3D Design for Virtual Environments (1/7)
  20. Chapter 4: Concepts in 3D Design for Virtual Environments (2/7)
  21. Chapter 4: Concepts in 3D Design for Virtual Environments (3/7)
  22. Chapter 4: Concepts in 3D Design for Virtual Environments (4/7)
  23. Chapter 4: Concepts in 3D Design for Virtual Environments (5/7)
  24. Chapter 4: Concepts in 3D Design for Virtual Environments (6/7)
  25. Chapter 4: Concepts in 3D Design for Virtual Environments (7/7)
  26. Chapter 5: Virtual Terrain and Designing Landscapes (1/6)
  27. Chapter 5: Virtual Terrain and Designing Landscapes (2/6)
  28. Chapter 5: Virtual Terrain and Designing Landscapes (3/6)
  29. Chapter 5: Virtual Terrain and Designing Landscapes (4/6)
  30. Chapter 5: Virtual Terrain and Designing Landscapes (5/6)
  31. Chapter 5: Virtual Terrain and Designing Landscapes (6/6)
  32. Chapter 6: 3D Modeling, 2D Graphics, and Data Visualization (1/6)
  33. Chapter 6: 3D Modeling, 2D Graphics, and Data Visualization (2/6)
  34. Chapter 6: 3D Modeling, 2D Graphics, and Data Visualization (3/6)
  35. Chapter 6: 3D Modeling, 2D Graphics, and Data Visualization (4/6)
  36. Chapter 6: 3D Modeling, 2D Graphics, and Data Visualization (5/6)
  37. Chapter 6: 3D Modeling, 2D Graphics, and Data Visualization (6/6)
  38. Chapter 7: Color, Particles, and Sensory Spaces (1/6)
  39. Chapter 7: Color, Particles, and Sensory Spaces (2/6)
  40. Chapter 7: Color, Particles, and Sensory Spaces (3/6)
  41. Chapter 7: Color, Particles, and Sensory Spaces (4/6)
  42. Chapter 7: Color, Particles, and Sensory Spaces (5/6)
  43. Chapter 7: Color, Particles, and Sensory Spaces (6/6)
  44. Chapter 8: Lighting in Virtual Environments : Second Life and OpenSim (1/4)
  45. Chapter 8: Lighting in Virtual Environments : Second Life and OpenSim (2/4)
  46. Chapter 8: Lighting in Virtual Environments : Second Life and OpenSim (3/4)
  47. Chapter 8: Lighting in Virtual Environments : Second Life and OpenSim (4/4)
  48. Chapter 9: Cameras and Collaborative Spaces (the Ideagora) (1/4)
  49. Chapter 9: Cameras and Collaborative Spaces (the Ideagora) (2/4)
  50. Chapter 9: Cameras and Collaborative Spaces (the Ideagora) (3/4)
  51. Chapter 9: Cameras and Collaborative Spaces (the Ideagora) (4/4)
  52. Chapter 10: Virtual Goods and Design for Virtual Shopping Environments (1/6)
  53. Chapter 10: Virtual Goods and Design for Virtual Shopping Environments (2/6)
  54. Chapter 10: Virtual Goods and Design for Virtual Shopping Environments (3/6)
  55. Chapter 10: Virtual Goods and Design for Virtual Shopping Environments (4/6)
  56. Chapter 10: Virtual Goods and Design for Virtual Shopping Environments (5/6)
  57. Chapter 10: Virtual Goods and Design for Virtual Shopping Environments (6/6)
  58. Chapter 11: Sound Design for Virtual Spaces (1/4)
  59. Chapter 11: Sound Design for Virtual Spaces (2/4)
  60. Chapter 11: Sound Design for Virtual Spaces (3/4)
  61. Chapter 11: Sound Design for Virtual Spaces (4/4)
  62. Chapter 12: Avatars and Nonplayer Characters (1/4)
  63. Chapter 12: Avatars and Nonplayer Characters (2/4)
  64. Chapter 12: Avatars and Nonplayer Characters (3/4)
  65. Chapter 12: Avatars and Nonplayer Characters (4/4)
  66. Chapter 13: Prototyping the Real World in a Virtual Environment (1/4)
  67. Chapter 13: Prototyping the Real World in a Virtual Environment (2/4)
  68. Chapter 13: Prototyping the Real World in a Virtual Environment (3/4)
  69. Chapter 13: Prototyping the Real World in a Virtual Environment (4/4)
  70. Chapter 14: Scripting Basics for the Designer (1/4)
  71. Chapter 14: Scripting Basics for the Designer (2/4)
  72. Chapter 14: Scripting Basics for the Designer (3/4)
  73. Chapter 14: Scripting Basics for the Designer (4/4)
  74. Chapter 15: HUDs in Virtual Environments (1/4)
  75. Chapter 15: HUDs in Virtual Environments (2/4)
  76. Chapter 15: HUDs in Virtual Environments (3/4)
  77. Chapter 15: HUDs in Virtual Environments (4/4)
  78. Chapter 16: Machinima in Virtual Worlds (1/5)
  79. Chapter 16: Machinima in Virtual Worlds (2/5)
  80. Chapter 16: Machinima in Virtual Worlds (3/5)
  81. Chapter 16: Machinima in Virtual Worlds (4/5)
  82. Chapter 16: Machinima in Virtual Worlds (5/5)
  83. Chapter 17: The Future, Design, and Virtual Worlds (1/2)
  84. Chapter 17: The Future, Design, and Virtual Worlds (2/2)
  85. Glossary (1/2)
  86. Glossary (2/2)
  87. Useful Links by Topic (1/4)
  88. Useful Links by Topic (2/4)
  89. Useful Links by Topic (3/4)
  90. Useful Links by Topic (4/4)
  91. Back Cover

Product information

  • Title: Virtual World Design
  • Author(s): Ann Latham Cudworth
  • Release date: July 2014
  • Publisher(s): A K Peters/CRC Press
  • ISBN: 9781466579668