VATSIM: A Serious Virtual World in the sky.
One of my big problems in starting off this blog in this emerging Serious Virtual Worlds space was how to ground it in something that was happening now that would illustrate the reality of virtuality.
VATSIM ,Virtual Air Traffic Simulation, operates 24/7. It running now as you read this piece with real pilots flying virtual planes on virtual routes between real destinations being managed by real air traffic controllers.
Surf over to VATSIM and load the Visual Display (you will need Java installed) from under NETWORK. The map is crowded with planes: move your cursor over the map and you will see their routes displayed.
And who is in this world? Travis Faudree, a professional charter pilot, considers himself to be pretty safe behind the controls. But every now and then he likes the challenge of flying into nasty weather--and when he gets that itch, he turns to one place. …Lousy weather, such as low ceilings or visibility--fog, snow, rain--seems to attract virtual pilots, said Faudree, who is from Hilton Head, S.C. For instance, the last noreaster that moved up the East Coast of the U.S...pilots on VatSim pretty much followed its path from night to night. One night, Miami was very busy. The next, Jacksonville, all the way up to Boston a few days later.via CNETNEWS .
The answer is both professionals and hobbyists. VATSIM is a global volunteer organization of flight simulation hobbyists who use donated network resources to create a virtual on-line ATC environment. All members are volunteers and there are no fees or membership dues. Although some of the controllers are real world professionals, amateur hobbyist controllers who enjoy giving their time to provide ATC services to the pilots of the VATSIM community provide the vast majority of ATC services. Most VATSIM members are dedicated to participating in an as real as it gets online ATC environment using real world procedures and practices to the greatest extent possible. via VATSIM.
What we have here in VATSIM a real working example of a Serious Virtual World that fits in with the definition of a virtual world: 1. Shared Space: the world allows many users to participate at once. 2. Graphical User Interface: the world depicts space visually, ranging in style from 2D "cartoon" imagery to more immersive 3D environments. 3. Immediacy: interaction takes place in real time. 4. Interactivity: the world allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customized content. 5. Persistence: the world's existence continues regardless of whether individual users are logged in. 6. Socialization/Community: the world allows and encourages the formation of in-world social groups like teams, guilds, clubs, cliques, housemates, neighborhoods, etc. Via Virtual Worlds Review
In VATSIM the uniqueness of the real world of flying and air traffic control : communication via radio, sensing the external environment by instruments and radar representations enables the replication of enough elements of the real world using PC based flight simulators and communication to make it both a serious virtual world and a space for serious play.
Serious Virtual Worlds by definition can be used for both work and for play. This blog will major on the serious real work world uses of virtual worlds. So, watch this space as Serious Virtual Worlds takes you on a journey into the hard reality of virtuality.
Dick Davies. Ambient Performance
dick(dot)davies(at)Ambientperformance(dot)com
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